(super)stition
by badtzumaru
Summary: She's not here to make friends. She's always been the misfit anyway, and the only thing sharper than her temper and words are her claws. But Class 1-A has a funny way of making the best out of the worst of things. Either way, Akatsuki Rei is going to need a bit of luck on her side if she wants to survive.
1. With Eyes that Watch the World

Chapter 1

With Eyes that Watch the World

* * *

Early morning. Cold, spring air. To Rei's surprise there was a decent number of people milling about as she walked up the steps at a brisk pace, trying to move quickly to keep herself warm. Everyone was most likely trying to ensure that they were early or on time to the first day of class. Who knew what would happen if they slacked off in the slightest? Everyone had worked hard to get to this point; the least they could do was attempt to meet the ridiculously high expectations.

U.A., the best hero high school in Japan. Part of her still couldn't believe that she had made it this far. How long ago was it that she had no idea about her future plans, other than getting out the orphanage and into the streets somehow? She hadn't even thought about attending high school, let alone some sort of hero training school. The dream of becoming a hero had been abandoned years ago, or so she had thought. Apparently it still lived on in the darkest corner of her soul, a fragment of hope that had nearly been obliterated, yet patiently waiting and biding its time. Striding forward with confidence, Rei's golden eyes glittered in the gray morning light. Maybe she hadn't had a consistent dream, but there was no way that she didn't deserve to be here any less than the others who had also made it in.

She was more than qualified. She had been told that so many times that she now believed it with every beat of her heart. Hands clenching her worn backpack straps, Rei steeled her heart. There was no time to think of her mentor now. She had to move forward.

Even as she found her way to her shoe locker and shed her outermost layers she kept her black face mask on, unwilling to part with it just yet. Her nose was sensitive to all this cold, and she wasn't quite ready to remove it, even if it wasn't a part of the uniform. Moving through the hallways, attempting to find her classroom, she received multiple strange and disdainful looks, although they seemed to be fewer than she had expected. Perhaps everyone knew that even the most rough looking street rat could hide away the most incredible quirks, and for the most part left her alone. Well, she wasn't going to toot her own horn. She most certainly wasn't the greatest, but she knew she could take a hit and land a few more on anyone who challenged her. Her eyes narrowed at anyone who looked at her for too long, the sneer on her face half hidden by her face mask as other students looked away quickly, unwilling to hold eye contact for too long. Even if they could only see part of her face, the other students got the idea, avoiding her and giving her space in the hallways, although she could feel their curious stares lingering on her back.

With her short, choppy black hair, her golden and feral eyes, and an attitude problem that could be seen a mile away, Rei was the walking, talking image of a rebel, a roughed up kid that wasn't afraid to fight dirty. She knew it. She could have changed her appearance to symbolize a fresh start now that she was at a new school, her old peers left in the dust, but she stuck with her image. Rei was tough, and she wanted people to know that they shouldn't mess with her or cross her path. Even though looks could be deceiving, her quirk and her attitude problem didn't help either. She was literally the shadow that waited in the corner for the ripest moment to strike with either her trademark scowl or icy glare plastered on her face at almost every waking moment. And now, with every step she took in the hallowed halls of U.A., even Rei began to feel out of place, if only by the amount of attention she was receiving.

_Ignore them. It's not the first time you've been looked at like this_. But even her iron will was beginning to slip, her confidence waning internally. Was she really cut out for this? Could she really become a hero, with everything that was stacked against her?

As though perfectly timed, the massive door emblazoned with "1-A" suddenly appeared in front of her. Standing in front of the door she stood up a little straighter, heaving a sigh and mentally pulling herself together. No more doubts; this was it. Before she could hesitate any longer or stall her entrance she pulled the door open just far enough for her to slip through, shutting it behind her as quietly as possible. Looking to the classroom, she noticed that nearly half of the students were already lingering in the space.

"You! That mask is not a part of the uniform that U.A. has given! You should remove that face mask as soon as possible, unless it is required and permitted for medical reasons!"

Wincing, Rei's eyes twitched as she squared off with a boy who had sped to meet her near the door. He moved much too quickly for a normal human being at this hour in the morning, and Rei could only hope that she sat as far away from him as possible. Compared to her measly height of five feet, this boy towered over her, forcing her to crane her neck upward as she looked at him with vague interest mixed with utter annoyance. From his spotless and expensive looking shoes to his perfect and most definitely product filled hair, his entire image screamed "I'm a rich boy!" His hands moved choppily to accompany his words, as though he was a wound up toy that ran across the room indiscriminately.

First impression? Rei didn't care for this kid at all, the first and foremost reason being that his voice was much too loud for her sensitive hearing. She could feel a headache coming on if this kid was going to be in her class for the next three years, the scowl on her face deepening. Slouching forward and digging her hands in her pockets, Rei deadpanned. "I don't have a medical reason, but I'm keeping it on. My nose hurts in the cold." Ducking under his arms, she began to look at the desks and the nametags, searching for her seat as quickly as possible and ignoring the boy's spluttering as he tried to continue to talk at her.

"Oh, it's you!"

This time Rei slowed, turning her head to look at the next voice that called out to her. Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at another golden eyed boy, this time a familiar figure. Blinking slowly, she raised a hand sheepishly. "Hey."

The boy grinned from ear to ear, leaning forward in his seat eagerly and pointing at himself. "I'm Kaminari Denki! Nice to meet you officially, since I never really got to thank you."

"Yeah…" Scratching the back of her neck, Rei looked away sheepishly, a bit flustered that the boy had such a good memory and had stepped forward to thank her explicitly. "Don't mention it." But Kaminari had already turned to his seat partner on his right, a pink alien looking girl who listened energetically as the boy delved into the tale of how Rei had saved his hide during the entrance exam's practical portion. Decided that her presence was unnecessary again, she continued to walk away, looking at the empty desks.

"Excuse me! Please remove that mask before the teacher comes in!"

She had finally seen her seat in the furthest back corner of the class, a lone desk next to the window that stood out amongst the even block. But any satisfaction by seeing her desk's somewhat isolated location was immediately crushed with the rich kid's incessant and overly loud voice bellowing in her direction from above. Growling she whipped around, squaring her shoulders as though ready to deliver a blow. The sharpness of her movement was enough to startle the boy into taking a step backward at her sudden and aggressive switch, the inhabitants in their room catching their breath as they watched the showdown. The temperature of the room dropped as Rei glared in his direction, slowly relaxing to show that she wasn't actually going to hit him.

Her tone was icy as she spoke, a warning in her low tone. "I'll take it off when I want to, and not a moment sooner. I'd suggest you be more concerned with yourself."

"My name is Iida Tenya!"

"That's nice." Rei turned away, walking down the final aisle next to the windows, determined to get to her seat and bury her head until class started. Was everyone going to be this annoying? "Go bother someone else."

The room seemed to relax as Rei instantly dispelled the tension when she turned away. Iida continued to blather on about something, but Rei had already tuned him out mentally. Continuing down the path, she looked to the only other student already in her row, brilliant red eyes clashing with her own. There was a scowl on his face and a furrow in his brows, his anger and irritation clearly displayed in addition to the menacing aura that leaked everywhere. He was leaning back in his seat with his legs on his desk, hands laced behind his explosively messy ash blonde hair, the image of a troublemaker simply biding his time. But Rei knew people worse than him. She stared back unflinchingly, daring him to test her.

He rolled his eyes, breaking their staring contest as Rei passed him by, but she didn't miss the twitch of his lips and the look of vaguely disguised interest.

"And you! Why are you putting your feet on the seat in front of you?"

Sighing to herself, Rei plopped down in her seat, folding her arms on her desk and laying her head down so that she could stare out the window. The sun was finally emerging, revealing a brilliantly sunny day that promised at least a slight bit of warm weather, even for March. Eyes fluttering, Rei tuned out the rest of the argument that was bubbling a few seats in front of her. At least she was early enough to get a few minutes of rest before school started…

The door had snapped open a few more times to reveal a few more students entering, some casually, most somewhat nervously. To save her head the tossing and turning she had laid her head down at an angle that provided a small sightline to the door. It wasn't perfect, mostly obscured by the people in her diagonal, but it was enough to catch if a teacher entered. So far, the coast was clear. If only Iida and that boy a few seats ahead of her would shut their mouths…

At least the desks here were clean and neat, and easy to take a nap on. There wasn't a speck of graffiti underneath the table, the legs sturdy and unmoving. It certainly was nice to go to a school with brand new amenities, although Rei wasn't sure how she felt about the uniform. Didn't those Ketsubutsu students have gray polos? That would have been so much easier to care for, less wrinkles to worry about. At least she didn't end up going to Seiai Academy; Rei cringed at the memory of seeing all the girls dressed in near formal dresses, the most pretentious uniforms she had ever seen. No, at least she hadn't caught the short end of the stick with that uniform. If only she could figure out how to tie the necktie properly. She had completely lucked out this morning, but it was loose and most likely going to come undone at some point during the day.

There was a gentle thrum in the room, most of the students already arrived and in their seats. The majority of the noise continued to come from Iida and the boy ahead of her, much to Rei's irritation and amusement. She eventually had turned a sliver of her attention to the argument that hadn't ever really died down, only increasing in fervor as Iida continued to be flustered by the aggressive and unapologetic boy. But when the door opened another time the two lifted from their conversation to the newest entrant, Iida immediately flying away.

If Rei thought that the unfinished argument would have brought a bit more peace, she was unfortunately proven wrong. In addition to the boy at the door, a cheerful girl appeared behind him, the trio strangely talking over one another altogether as everyone looked on in confusion.

It was so noisy, in fact, that Rei hadn't known about the newest entrant that had snuck up on the three near the entrance until he stood up in the doorway. The flash of bright yellow instantly grabbed her attention, making Rei sit up straight in her seat as she pulled the black face mask under her chin. _A teacher? When did he get there?_

"Okay, it took eight seconds before you all were quiet." His voice was monotonous and soft, barely projecting for the entire room to hear. Everyone instinctively stilled, barely daring to breathe as the only sounds were of the zipper of a sleeping bag being pulled away as an exhausted and beaten looking figure walked into the room. "Time is limited. You all are pretty impractical."

Rei was so caught off guard by the newest entrant she barely registered his words. Blinking quickly, she watched carefully as his gaze turned toward the rest of the room, moving beyond the trio that continued to linger at the front of the classroom. "I'm Aizawa Shota, your homeroom teacher." He barely seemed to register the sounds of surprise from across the classroom, instead pulling out some sort of uniform from his bag. "It's kind of sudden, but change into these and go to the field."

For a moment the room was frozen, unmoving as though still attempting to process everything that was happening. Then in the blink of an eye everyone began to move as a unit, grabbing uniforms that were handed out and heading to the changing rooms. Rei was the last person to move out of the room, Aizawa holding her uniform for a moment longer as he regarded her with a piercing gaze. She looked to her homeroom teacher in confusion, but holding his gaze unflinchingly. What did he want with her?

"Please remove that mask. It's not part of the uniform."

Rei's cheeks heated up as she pulled the mask from her face, stuffing it into her pocket. Damn, that Iida!

* * *

"A Quirk assessment test?!"

It seemed that everyone was equally caught off guard by the reason for their appearance on the sports field, even though they had changed into an athletic uniform. Most had guessed that they would have been doing some sort of benchmarks, considering the fact that it was indeed the first day; something as strange as this had been an unexpected turn. But as their homeroom teacher began to explain the rationale for such an event, it all began to make sense.

Except for the part where it was their homeroom teacher administering these tests.

On the day of what was supposed to be orientation and the opening ceremony.

Well, it wasn't like Rei was looking forward to those two traditional things anyway. Especially in the case of the opening ceremony, it only meant more standing around and listening to people she had never really interacted with and therefore didn't care about in detail. Opening ceremonies would have been better than being in class if it weren't for the fact that there was a lack of surfaces to sleep on. Speeches were boring. Who cared? All of them knew that they were here to do their best; why force someone up to speak in front of the school to reiterate what everyone already intrinsically knew and practiced? Even if this quirk assessment test was unprecedented in Rei's case, it was a good riddance of the opening ceremony anyway. Rei could feel her muscles twitching in anticipation at what came ahead.

"Bakugou, you finished at the top of the practical exam, right?"

All eyes turned to the boy with ash blonde hair as he shifted, looking up in surprise as Aizawa continued. "In Junior High, what was your best softball throw?"

The boy paused for a moment, recollecting his thoughts. "Sixty-seven meters"

"Then try doing it with your quirk."

If anyone's attention had been waning, now was the time that it was brought back. Everyone perked up at the directions, watching with bated breath as Aizawa handed a softball to the boy. He tossed it up and down experimentally, moving into the ring and waiting for further directions. Rei crossed her arms as she looked around at everyone. If this was going where she thought it was going, then now was going to be the best time to get an idea of everyone's quirks.

"As long as you stay in the circle, anything's fine. Hurry up."

Briefly stretching his arms, Bakugou wasted no time winding up for the pitch. However, nothing had prepared Rei for the blast that ensued, winds whipping around from the fiery launch that sent the ball arching high into space.

"DIE!"

Narrowing her eyes to combat the dry winds that whipped her choppy, short hair around, she watched with interest as the ball vanished into the air, almost completely out of sight. With a click of a button, Aizawa stared at his tracker for a moment. "Knowing your limits is the best way to form a foundation for a hero." Lifting the tracker up for the class to see, a cry went up in shock. Rei's eyebrows lifted for a moment in dull surprise, though she wasn't terribly shocked like most of the class seemed to be. From the trajectory of the ball, it was about what she had expected. Crossing her arms, she stared at the first participant, trying to get a read on him.

An explosive quirk. He was opening and closing his hand, a thoughtful and dark look on his face, clearly thinking about something even as the class oohed and ahhed over his flashy display. Their reactions certainly seemed to have a small effect on him as he stood up straighter in light of the attention, but on the surface he seemed to brush it off, instead focused on his internal thoughts. It was then that he felt her eyes on him, looking up with a sharp expression and glaring at Rei, as though trying to scare her off. She merely blinked, refusing to back down and returning the look as she stared him back down, golden eyes locked with red. Rei wasn't intimidated by him persay, although his quirk certainly was something. But it would take a lot more than an intimidating look and a scowl to get a reaction out of her.

Seeming to get the idea, Bakugou scoffed, shaking his hands out and breaking eye contact first. Rei huffed amusedly, secretly counting it as a win for herself as she tossed her head to the side. If he thought that he could ward her away and intimidate her, he had a big storm coming.

"'Sounds like fun,' huh?" Turning back to their teacher, Rei noted that Aizawa's face had gone dark. "How long are you going to have those attitudes?" A wicked grin spread across his face, sending chills down Rei's spine. "Alright then. The person to come in last in all eight tests will be judged to have no talent and will be punished by expulsion."

"_What?!"_

Even Rei stood a little straighter, lips parting in a small gasp. Seriously? Though she didn't doubt it for a second, coming from the man in front of her. If anything, he seemed to despise joking with his deadpan tone and exhausted exterior. Of all the teachers at U.A., Aizawa was certainly the one to joke around the least.

"But this is unfair!" The brown haired girl who had been last to enter the classroom clamored, some of the other students nodding in agreement.

"Natural disasters, calamities, villains. There's a lot of unfairness in Japan. U.A. will be throwing every hardship in your direction for the next three years, so if you want to have a fun time with friends, then go somewhere else." Their homeroom teacher grinned, although instead of being encouraging or heartwarming it was rather terrifying on his face. "Go beyond, Plus Ultra. Give it everything you've got."

* * *

With every test, it seemed as though each person was able to shine through in some way. Even only at the halfway point, that much was clear. Iida without a doubt had the shortest time for the fifty meter dash, surprising everyone by clearing the distance in just over three seconds flat (although surprise may not have been the right word; the boy had engines on his calves, for heaven's sake). Then there had been Shoji with the grip strength test (Over five hundred kilos? Seriously? That Kirishima was more right in calling him a gorilla), and that Mineta guy with his… who knew what the hell that was.

Rei hovered somewhere in the middle of the pack.

It was fine by her. At this rate, she certainly wasn't going to be last in any category, making her one of the most well rounded individuals. As long as she didn't end up last in anything and tried her best, that was as much as she could do, especially to keep herself from being expelled. Still, it was a bit stinging to see so many of her peers flying past her (sometimes quite literally), their abilities and actions only serving as a reminder as to how average she was.

Undoubtedly, it was much easier to do the tests now that their quirks were no longer restricted. Frankly, Rei wasn't certain if she ever could truly do any of those testings in middle school without her quirks; how was she supposed to mimic a quirkless person doing a long jump, when she naturally jumped high? Most of middle school athletic testing had thus consisted of her halfassing or bullshitting her way through the tests.

Now, there was no option except to literally go "Plus Ultra."

The fifty meter dash had thus been… embarrassing.

Rei was a good runner. She ran all the time in her home area, mostly for fun. Her legs were her strongest card, her quirk giving her a distinct advantage when it came to jumping and running around. No matter how much she trained, she had always relied on her legs since they were her most notable feature and the easiest to use. But under the pressure to do something unexpected and use her quirk in a way that would assist her time, her brain had apparently short circuited. As the odd number in their class, she had been put at the end and raced alone.

Sliding her feet into the braces, she knew what she wanted to do. All she had to do was keep her body low to the ground in order to ensure that her directionality was maximized in the way she wanted. With her face looking forward, she squinted, preparing herself to move as fast as possible.

"Go!"

The electronic machine beeped cheerfully, setting Rei off. With her arms at her side she kept her body low to the ground, legs pushing off powerfully as her strides lengthened. _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight!_ Her ears picked up the click of the machine at the end of the stretch, although she continued hurtling forward, mind too preoccupied with her next problem to even hear her time. She had hurtled forward too fast, her upper body unable to right itself.

Then the worst happened.

She tripped.

Blasting past the finish line and unable to twist her body to stop her momentum like Iida, the ground was rather rocky a bit further away from the stretch. Her ninth step had her stubbing her foot on a large pebble that was rooted solidly in the ground, sending her flying forward. Instinct taking over even as she winced, preparing in an instant for her face to meet the ground. Her arms instinctively shot under her chest and pushed up, sending her legs flying over her head as her body flipped in a high arc. Righting her posture in the air she landed in a crouch, standing up quickly and looking around in a panicked manner for a moment before calming herself, crossing her arms and catching her breath.

"Akatsuki-san! Are you okay?"

It was the brown haired girl, Uraraka, who called out first. Rei blinked slowly nodded sheepishly. "I'm fine. Thanks."

"Incredible, Akatsuki!" Other classmates cheered for her, apparently impressed. Rei only looked in confusion as she rejoined the group, looking at Uraraka.

"What was my time?"

"Four point five seconds! Waah, that was so fast, I was so scared that you weren't going to stop!" She made hand motions imitating what would have happened if Rei had continued with her momentum, crashing into some sort of wall at the end, or most likely a tree in the grove not far from the field.

Rei would never admit that she nearly thought the same. To her fortune, it appeared as though she had tricked most of the class into thinking that her somersault had been planned, breathing a sigh of relief as everyone began to move to the next station. Everything had happened in an instant, yet for Rei it had felt like an eternity. She had nearly eaten it at the finish line in front of all her peers; how was she supposed to save face and act like a hero if she did embarrassing things like that? With a scowl on her face she blended back into the group, determined to be a little more aware of her body in the next tests.

It was in the standing long jump that she redeemed herself.

After stretching her legs out, she lowered herself to the ground as much as she could, crouching in a squat that looked more like she was going to do some weeding in a garden like an old grandmother. Yet there was a glimmer in her eye; after so many years of holding back in this test, she could finally push her limits. Considering the most opportune angle for a moment more, she wriggled briefly before tensing, then exploding into the air. She launched as close to a forty-five degree angle as possible, maximizing air time while also propelling herself forward. Clearing the sandbox and sailing over it with grace, she landed in another crouch, this time much more controlled.

Turning a head to Aizawa, she blinked as he scratched something down in his notes, nodding for her to take her leave. This time, Uraraka was joined by Kaminari and the pink alien looking girl as they crowded their stormy-looking classmate. Rei jerked backward in surprise at their close proximity as they suddenly surrounded her, too enthused to be an interrogation but too close for Rei to be comfortable in the slightest.

"Wow, you seriously leap so high, Akatsuki-san!"

"What's your quirk called?"

Rei blinked once, then twice before speaking slowly. "Nine Lives."

"Ehh, is that like a cat reference?"

"A cat? Where's your tail?"

Rei scowled. "I don't have one." Thankfully, she was saved from the trouble as Uraraka pointed back to the jump, watching the boy with the naval laser get ready to take the leap. Wriggling away and making her way through the crowd, she made her way to the fringes of the group, content to watch things from afar. Frankly, she wasn't sure what to make of Uraraka and other, friendly people in her class. If they wanted to be friends, they would be disappointed. If they wanted to mess with her, they would be even worse off.

"Oi."

Turning her head, she watched as Bakugou stalked towards her. He stopped just short of her, a scowl on his face. He was a full head taller than her, forcing Rei to crane her neck up, much to her irritation. Rei imagined that there was rarely any other expression on him, from what she could see about his personality and carriage, but watched carefully for any other glimpses of emotions or reactions. For the most part he seemed calm, a completely different side from what she had seen of him antagonizing Iida. Arms crossed once again she turned to face him fully, raising an eyebrow in interest. "Yeah?"

A sneer came over his face as he looked down his nose at Rei. "You're that second ranked student from the entrance exam, aren't you."

Something about his attitude ruffled her feathers, but Rei tried to keep her calm. "I am."

"You better stay out of my way."

Surprise clearly crossed her features, Rei sincerely caught off guard. "Sorry?"

"I'm here to become the number one hero. There's no room for you up here. So stay out of my way, or else I'll beat you down." Apparently having finished what he wanted to say, he turned on his heel, walking back toward a group of boys to watch the rest of the tests.

That was fine. She would just let him be.

"If that's how you think of others, you won't be up there for long."

Rei winced internally, screaming at herself mentally. Her and her big mouth.

Bakugou froze in his steps, slowly turning around and looking rather shocked that someone had dared backtalk to him.

"The hell'd you just say?"

Rolling her eyes, Rei held her ground. Might as well give him a piece of her mind while she had his attention. "You're assuming you have to knock everyone down to get to the top. Someone who burns the foundation will have nowhere to stand in the end." Fearless, she stepped closer toward him, closing the distance and watching in amusement as the surprise that briefly registered on his face before being replaced with another scowl. "I don't care that you want to be a top hero. I have no intention of chasing after the top. But even the strongest bullies have their henchmen to support them from the bottom."

She jumped just a bit as the sound of explosions rang out, Bakugou's hands firing away small rounds as he growled. "I can handle it all on my own."

"Oh really?"

"What're you trying to say?"

"Figure it out, Mr. Top Ranked. I'm sure if you've got it all together as you say, you can figure anything out."

"I don't like your tone-"

"Then go somewhere else. You started this."

With a huff and a growl he stormed away, leaving Rei by herself once again. Breathing a sigh of relief, she looked back to the group of students clustered around the standing long jump. From what it seemed, they were almost done.

Just what exactly had Bakugou wanted? Spouting nonsense about wanting to be the number one hero; of course a lot of people had that dream, but not everyone. By the way he spoke though, it was as though he wanted to absolutely destroy everyone here and leave them in the dust. He acted as though everyone were beneath him. Rei's hands clenched in anger. There were few people in her life that Rei had met that had the same attitude in life as Bakugou, and almost every single one of them knew her fist better than they knew her or she knew them.

She didn't want that. She didn't want to make enemies at school, of all places. Rei was done with the conflict, of having to dodge and weave between people in and out of school grounds, of having to constantly watch her back. After being accepted to U.A., she had imagined that she had finally put all of that behind her; surely the students here were above antagonizing their peers. They wanted to be heroes, damn it! Shouldn't they learn to work with one another and like one another?

But the more she thought about it now, the more she realized that it was too high of an order. The real world was filled with conflict, of antagonizers and of bullies. Rei knew the reality of having to watch one's back twenty-four seven. Just because U.A. was filled with the best of the best didn't mean the people were always going to work well with one another.

Rei hoped that Bakugou wouldn't end up being an enemy. A bit of regret picked away at her chest, but her pride was too big to let it move her to any other actions. She absolutely meant what she had said, and she would stand by it. From the moment their eyes had met that morning she knew that he was tough, knew that he wouldn't take any bullshit. The two of them were the same in that respect. As she watched him angrily storm off, she swallowed hard, looking to the ground and kicking at the dirt. She would have to be more careful moving forward now. She didn't want any friends, but she certainly didn't want any enemies.

Little did she realize exactly how hypocritical she was.

* * *

"It doesn't look good for Midoriya-kun if he continues like this."

The shy boy had been standing in the circle for a while now, just staring at the ball in his hands, seemingly lost in thought. Everyone was waiting patiently at the sides, quietly, though some talked amongst themselves. Rei had made her way to the front of the group in order to see more clearly, placing her between Iida and Uraraka. At least now she was less irritated with the perfect prep boy; he was clearly suited to become a hero, and had become much more serious and quiet after the test had been announced. There was a quiet focus and analysis that Rei found herself admiring, and even she found that she didn't mind standing next to him now.

But his comment caught her off guard.

"Ehh? Of course not." Apparently she wasn't the only one. Bakugou stood on the other side of Iida, looking skeptically at the motor based quirk wielder. "He's a quirkless small fry."

Interest piqued, Rei peered around Iida's hulking frame to look at Bakugou, interest on her face. "Quirkless?"

The caramine eyed boy stared at Rei calmly, opening his mouth to respond. Surprisingly he didn't seem terribly ruffled at her presence, the opposite of what Rei had expected from him. But Iida was the one who responded quickest, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Quirkless? Are you not aware of what he did at the entrance exam?"

"Huhh?"

Standing up straight again, Rei looked at Iida in confusion and curiosity. "What happened?"

Iida simply pointed to Midoriya, who was winding up for his throw. The class watched with bated breath and high expectation, anxious to see what the average looking boy would do.

"Forty-six meters!"

Silence. Rei watched as confusion and panic settled into Midoriya's face as he turned to see what everyone was now staring at. Their homeroom teacher had a bizarre aura to him, the scarf on his neck expanding to float around him as a bunch of ribbons. No one could see his face, but realization slowly dawned on Midoriya's.

"Eraserhead!"

The class scattered into confusion, talk breaking out amongst themselves as they attempted to figure out exactly who their teacher was. Rei watched as Aizawa pulled Midoriya closer to him using his ribbons, giving some directions that only the two of them could hear. As Midoriya walked back to the circle, a bit more shaken now that he had been temporarily put out of commission, Rei looked back to Iida.

"What were you saying about the entrance exam?"

Turning his full attention back to Rei, the look on his face was serious. "When the zero point machine came out, he launched himself into the air and punched it so hard, the machine crumpled and was broken. It looked like he was trying to save Uraraka-san from being hurt."

Rei stiffened. "With one hit?"

"Yes." Iida looked back at Midoriya, a severe look coming across his face now. "But his limbs were completely broken in the process. It was as though he didn't know how to control his quirk."

Silence was all Rei could offer as she processed all the information. Bakugou had stated that Midoriya was quirkless, but apparently his quirk was incredibly strong. How had he pulled that off? Had he tricked everyone into thinking he was quirkless for all these years? That seemed impossible and improbable. Was it latent? Rei had never heard of anyone developing a quirk after elementary school, let alone during junior high. That theory was the least improbable so far, and it would explain why he was so inexperienced. Midoriya couldn't control his quirk, that much was obvious.

Rei watched the boy carefully as he stared back at the ball again. So it seemed that he was back to square one. After the admonishment from Aizawa-sensei, he seemed to be in a bit more of an agonizing situation. If Iida was right and his quirk took that much out of him, then he would immediately be immobilized, making him a weakness and easy target on the field of battle. It seemed as though Aizawa knew that much, and was forcing him to rethink his situation. Watching the green haired boy contemplate his next move drew a bit of sympathy from Rei. To make it all this way, only to be faced with expulsion at this point. That was rough.

Finally readying up with a look of determination on his face, Midoriya wound up for the delivery. The class held their breath, watching with anticipation to see what he would do.

The ball hurtled through the air explosively.

Startled at the sudden blast and subsequent winds that whipped through the field, Rei watch along with the class with bated breath as the ball sailed high into the air, landing a great distance away. Aizawa, after a long moment of staring at the tracker, held up the counter for everyone to see.

"What?! Over seven hundred meters?"

"That's almost as far as Bakugou's throw!"

"Incredible! Who knew that he could do such a thing!"

As the class exploded into another cacophony of sounds, Rei simply watched with a tiny grin on her face, though it looked a little dark as it mixed with her full expression. So Midoriya was smart, that much was obvious. She watched as he clenched his hand, his pointer finger looking severely damaged but the rest of him otherwise unscathed. From what she and the others had apparently been expecting, they had thought that his entire arm would have been out of commission, but he surprised them all by limiting his quirk to his finger.

Just what exactly was his quirk? Being able to focus it to certain parts of the body and having the flexibility to gauge how much energy he wanted to throw in was certainly a blessed thing. Unlike others who often had to give it their all depending on their quirk, Midoriya was able to focus where he wanted to expend energy. Even if it was reckless, and Rei had to agree with Iida that it looked as though he was for the most part unable to control it, it certainly had potential to go far.

But why couldn't he control it?

Triumphantly, Midoriya looked at their homeroom teacher, clenching wrist in his other hand with a shaky smile on his face. "Sensei, I can still move!"

So that was the intention behind their teacher's interruption; Rei had assumed as much, since from what Iida had told her, Midoriya had been out of commission during the entrance exam after his explosive move. It had been a dare to get him to rethink his theory and to see if he really had what it took to become a hero, even with a disadvantage. From what Rei saw, he passed with flying colors. Only the end would tell though.

Suddenly Bakugou broke away from the group, hands igniting and spitting furious flames. "The hell Deku?! Tell me what's going on, you bastard!"

It had been so fast, no one had any time to react. No one, save for Aizawa. With lightning speed the quirk erasing hero sent his cloth strips flying, latching onto Bakugou's head and limbs and pulling him tight. The fiery blonde boy could only twitch in the vice grip, muttering as he strained against the taut pull. "What the-these cloths are damn hard-"

"They're weapons for capture made of carbon fiber woven together with a metal wire made of a special alloy." Grumpily, he pulled them even tighter for a moment, attitude gone dark. "Don't make me keep using my quirk over and over. I have dry eye!" After holding on for a moment to ensure that everyone had gotten the message, he called the wires back and relaxed his quirk, his nonchalant attitude coming back as he waved on the next person. "Whoever's next, hurry up."

The next person was called, and as Midoriya rejoined the group he was surrounded by Iida and Uraraka, along with a few others. Left alone again, Rei focused on the test. How was she to approach this? Her throwing was a bit better than average, but she wanted to go further. As long as she stayed in the circle…

The monotone voice of their teacher had her moving forward quickly, moving with a purpose as she accepted the ball and moved into the ring. It was her turn now. Stretching her arms and legs out briefly, she took a moment to look at the field. She would want to aim at a high angle, but not so high that it would detract from the overall distance gained. If that was it…

Jumping high into the air, Rei threw the ball as hard as she could at the highest peak of her leap, watching in satisfaction as she dropped back to the ground and followed the ball's trajectory with her eyes. Landing in a crouch she watched as it finally hit the ground, head swiveling to Aizawa's tracker for the final result.

"Two-hundred thirty seven meters." He showed the tracker's results to her, and Rei nodded her head. It was nothing like Midoriya or Bakugou, but it was enough to satisfy her and ensure that she wasn't in last place. With a curt nod of her head she headed back to the group, their horde moving along to the next activity.

Back to business.

* * *

The electronic projection flickered to life in front of the entire class.

"So, here's the results from today."

_5th Place: Akatsuki Rei_

Blinking a few times, Rei stared at the results, scanning up and down to get a feel for the rest of the class. Of course Yaoyorozu was placed in first, with that Todoroki boy in second. Bakugou was also listed near the top, with Iida following in fourth. It made sense that those four had placed in the top four, what with their quirks giving them distinct advantages in speed and strength (except for Yaoyorozu, who had literally exceeded all expectations due to the nature of her creative quirk). To end up in fifth place without a flashy or incredibly strong quirk…

Well, the more that she thought about it, the more the answer seemed obvious. After the top few students, most of the other students tended to have one area of specialty, or their quirks simply weren't suited for the physicality of the test. With Rei she was more of a balanced individual, not quite standing out yet not having all of her apples in one basket.

Satisfied with the result, she continued to comb through the list until she came to the bottom, a frown coming on her face as she looked at Midoriya Izuku's name in twenty-first place. So even with the ball throw he still had ranked last. Even though it was none of her business, Rei felt pity for the boy. After everything he had given, the smarts he had demonstrated in controlling his quirk to enable him to finish the test, he still ended up at the bottom.

Expulsion. Even Rei didn't want that for the boy.

The screen flickered away, Aizawa tucking the device into his pocket.

"By the way, I was lying about the expulsion."

A pause. Then, outrage and confusion.

"What?!"

"No way…"

"I thought for sure…"

"It's obvious, if you thought about it more."

"Well, that was a fun challenge!"

Turning away from the class, Aizawa began walking away. "There's packets in the classroom with the curriculum. Look them over." He paused in front of Midoriya, handing him a doctor's note before disappearing around the corner and leaving the class to mingle.

While the rest of the class began to relax, Rei immediately began walking toward the classroom. If this was the end of the first day, she would take advantage of the early time and head back. Moving with purpose she strode away from the cluster, heading back to change out of her athletic uniform so she could get a move on. By the time the rest of the girls entered the changing room she was already moving out and on to the classroom to pick up her belongings and the packet Aizawa-sensei had mentioned.

It had been a lie. The test, that was. It was all Rei could think about as she strode through the empty hallways, musing over the day's events. There was no plan for anyone to be expelled. Or so Aizawa-sensei had stated. For some reason Rei wasn't sure what to believe; on one hand, it was unfair if any of the students had worked so hard to get into U.A., only to be rejected. But hadn't their teacher brought up the unfairnesses and injustices in the world? Rei doubted that he had said such things only to reinforce a lie. Perhaps he had been serious about the expulsion, but maybe he had seen something in Midoriya. Even if he had finished in last place, it was undeniable that he showed promised, room for growth.

So why did she feel unsettled? Perhaps it had something to do with her classmates, the competition, the setting. By all rights it had been a competition, and only the strongest would have survived. But as Rei stood on the fringes and watched their interactions, most people had been content to encourage one another and talk casually even in the midst of the battle. Was it because they were so confident in their abilities that even talking with their competitors had no effect on them? No, Rei didn't think that was the case; Uraraka in particular seemed… a bit blundering at times, and simply seemed vibrant twenty-four seven as a result of just who she was.

Why was everyone so friendly, so kind? In a top ranked school where everyone was seeking to be a hero, it only made sense that everyone was a threat. No, no, no; shaking her head, she put those thoughts away. That sounded like Bakugou's attitude, and Rei was almost certain that wasn't the case. Entering the classroom and striding over to one desk that had a stack of papers, she plucked a packet from the top before going to her own desk to pick up her backpack.

Everyone in the class had different goals, of that Rei was certain. But why was everyone so friendly, so willing to talk at be at ease?

That boy she had rescued from the zero point robot during the entrance exam was the first case. Kaminari didn't have to thank her, or go out of his way to be friendly. Neither did Uraraka, who had shown concern for Rei's near screw up during the fifty meter dash. What was the catch?

It was in the shoe room as she packed up silently that it hit her; everyone came from a different background. Most everyone didn't know each other from before, save for maybe Midoriya and Bakugou. It was a clean slate, a fresh start, where no one knew anyone well. Friendship: that was what most people seemed to want, the very thing that Aizawa had warned about in contrast to the rigorous years ahead. And still that warning didn't seem to phase many. Everyone wanted to get to know each other, and it was in that fact that Rei knew she was going to be an outsider once more.

Rei was a loner. Not by choice, in the beginning of her academic career, but it was a mantle she had assumed. Where she was from, no one wanted anything to do with the leftover children, the forgotten ones, the unwanted kids. Who did? They were the stigma, the black smear on Japanese society. If even their parents didn't want them, who would? Rei had only one friend growing up in the orphanage, and after losing her Rei was left utterly alone.

Friends were a luxury Rei could not afford. That fact had not changed. Once people got to know her they would surely step away. She brought no merit, had nothing to offer. So she accepted the fact that she would linger behind everyone else, watching from afar.

That didn't matter. In the long term, she just needed to gain enough attention to warrant a job somewhere so that she could survive. She didn't need anyone, especially if they didn't need her.

If that was the case, then why did her chest ache?

Left to mull over her thoughts, she brooded the entire way back home. There was plenty of time to think on the train ride home, and Rei found a corner in the back of one of the cars. She spaced out in her own world, not wanting to think about anything specific for the time being. Even as she got off the train and walked through the familiar streets she remained in a daze, trying to avoid everything for as long as possible until the gate came into view.

In the middle of a residential district, the two story building looked almost exactly like any other house on the block. Though a little bit bigger to compensate for all the inhabitants, it was humbly painted and just barely kept in shape, with the front yard littered with weeds and various sticks and branches that the children collected and used in their games. She passed through the metallic front gate, shuffling into the front door and removing her shoes before padding down the hallway. Muttering her greetings to the empty space she made her way up the stairs to her bedroom.

The room was in the middle of the hall, facing the front of the building. To her fortune, Rei had been given her own room upon entering high school, a first since she had been in the orphanage. Most of the other girls and boys her age and older had already left, only a few stragglers who had attempted high school or were simply looking for jobs lingering behind. Throwing her bag next to her desk, Rei opened the window before taking a seat, sorting through the packet she picked up and reading through it carefully. There was no point in giving it to any of the adults in the building; Rei knew the headmaster would immediately throw it away, and any of the other workers were much too busy with the smaller children and other duties to even care about it. With a sigh she pressed on in the dim room, the only light coming from the window in front of her.

This was her reality for the next three years. She might as well buckle down and accept it from the beginning.

* * *

AN: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I haven't updated for months, and I'm sure some people were expecting me to update that Overwatch story or post the sequel to Limitless. But I've gotten kind of distracted; the sequel to Limitless will eventually come out, I promise. But it might be a while, if I'm going to be honest. My focus has shifted to other genres and such.

Anyway, this story is actually just a dump (you can tell b/c I have no titles for the chapters, lol). I have no idea where I'm going with it, and I'm not really happy with it. However, I've written twenty-three chapters. So... I guess it's better to post this crap instead of hoarding it to myself where it'll never see the light of day?

I wrote over 200K+ in January, so here's a taste of what I was doing. Thanks for y'all who have been patient with me.

Enjoy? Let me know what y'all think. Please leave a comment or a review, or anything. :)

**Edit (May 20th, 2019): **Made grammatical, spelling, and minor changes to sentences and structure


	2. First Encounters

Chapter 2

First Encounters

* * *

"_This is Haru. Starting today, she'll be your new roommate." _

_Rei was five years old, looking at the equally as small girl standing in front of her who hiding behind Miss Yuuka's leg and peering at Rei. It was almost comical how the other girl seemed to think that she could hide completely behind the other woman's legs, trying to vanish from sight as though she wanted to completely disappear, but it was no laughing matter to Rei. Wide blue eyes stared into her own gold, clearly frightened at this place. They flinched and moved around constantly, one moment fixated almost entrancingly on Rei's figure before bouncing between the floor and walls, staring with absurd interest at the worn wooden panels. Rei could only stare in vague interest as a moment of silence stretched between them, curiosity and concern weaving together in her chest. _

"_I'm sure you'll be able to show Haru around, won't you, Rei-chan?"_

_Puffing out her chest at the responsibility, Rei grinned and nodded ecstatically. Even if the other girl was uncertain, Rei couldn't hide the fact that she was proud to have been selected for such responsibility. She was eager to do her part, to please Miss Yuuka and demonstrate her competence. Not only that, but she was eager to make a new friend, someone else that was her age. Maybe this girl wouldn't be afraid to go digging around in the canal for more rocks to chuck back into the river, or to build mud cakes with her during the summer. She just hoped that this girl wouldn't be like the others who preferred smooth their skirts over and tell Rei that she was being rather unlady like and improper. _

_"Yes ma'am!" __Hopping forward, Rei reached out a hand to Haru, who shifted backwards instinctually. But Rei was undeterred, stubbornly insistent on making a new friend. "My name is Akatsuki Rei! Call me Rei! Starting today, let's be friends." _

_Haru seemed unsure, looking up at the caretaker for permission with wide eyes. With the older woman nodding her head in encouragement, the blonde girl seemed to perk up and become a little more bold, swallowing her fear as best as she could in order to put on a brave face. Stepping around from Yuuka's position, she tentatively reached out to accept Rei's hand. "I'm Haru. Please take care of me."_

_Her voice was quiet, but Rei didn't let that deter her at all. _"_Of course!" Haru stumbled a bit as Rei yanked her hand energetically, almost dragging the smaller girl down the hallway. "C'mon, let's go to my room! Do you like collecting rocks? I have a lot of really shiny ones from the river." The black haired girl immediately began chattering away, occasionally asking questions to Haru, who slowly began to open up as a small smile dawned upon her face at her new friend's enthusiasm._

_It was the beginning. _

* * *

_Humans have always stated that time only speeds up as life is lived. Perhaps this phenomena only occurs because, as humans experience life and live under the constraints of the fourth dimension, our perception of time and our understanding of its relativity to our experiences and conceptions grows. One day in the perspective of five years lived seems to be much longer than in the perspective of thirty years lived. _

_But a month flew by in the blink of an eye for both Rei and Haru, no matter how young they were, no matter how little of life they had lived thus far. In one another's company, the days passed quickly as they explored and played in wonder and fascination. They had become sisters in all but blood, playing and bickering with ease. _

_Time passes. History repeats itself. The real world returns and breaks the peace._

"_What do you mean you're going?"_

_Haru sat on her bed across from Rei, who was rummaging around and pulling together her meager belongings, putting them in a pile on her futon. It was nighttime, the only light in the room being a dim bulb that hung high above their heads, casting a dull warm glow around the room. Pulling open some of the drawers, Rei scanned through the contents, finally picking up a shiny white rock and holding it in her hands._

"_Sometimes my mom likes to take me home. But I'll probably be back in a week." Rei frowned, holding the rock in her hand as she studied it carefully. Her eyes were trained on the object in her hands far too carefully, too studious to be natural. "She always gets tired of me."_

_There was a sadness in her voice as she spoke, though it was mostly covered by the biting tone that stood at the forefront. Haru watched her friend of nearly a month in sorrow, clasping her hands together in her lap. There was fear in her eyes and in her voice as she spoke, unwilling to fully lift her head and show it, but even as her eyes flickered all around the room they always managed to come back to Rei. "But, what if you don't come back?"_

_Her friend's concern was enough to break her from her musing, a sharp change in her demeanor pulling her from her dark thoughts and back into the present. Stopping her packing and flopping onto Haru's futon, Rei grinned. "Don't worry. I always come back. And I won't leave you alone for long." Taking Haru's hand in hers, she placed the smooth pebble in Haru's hand. "This is my favorite rock. Keep it safe until I come back, okay?"_

_Haru turned the rock in her hand, admiring the way its polished surface shone and feeling the weight of the promise settle into her grasp. She looked into Rei's eyes, finding strength in the absolute confidence that Rei displayed. Rei would return. They both knew it._

_Closing her hand over the rock, Haru nodded her head. "Okay. Come back soon, okay?"_

* * *

_Haru waited for Rei every day. Every time someone came to the door, the small blonde girl would leap down the stairway with a grin on her face, only to let it slip away with every person that was not her friend. In her free moments she waited by the gate, looking for that familiar tuft of messy black hair, waiting to hear her infectious laughter, longing to see those golden eyes again. With every day that passed Haru found her resolve to continue waiting, day in and day out._

_She grew anxious. After a full week Haru began acting out, throwing sudden tantrums that had most of the orphanage workers confused until they realized the source. Haru and Rei were thick as thieves, their relationship unlike any others as they mostly kept to themselves and minded their own business. With her partner in crime missing, it was only natural that Haru felt lost. After a few days they let her wait by the door until she would fall asleep, Miss Yuuka more often than not being the one to take her back to her room and tuck her into bed with a look of sorrow on her own face. _

_It was after ten days that Rei returned._

_The evening had worn on, and most of the younger children were getting ready for bed. Haru sat on the staircase, the same as every day, waiting for Miss Yuuka to come around the corner and gently admonish her for staying up so late. Sitting on the third step, with her hands holding up her chin, blue eyes watched the door intently, watching, waiting. The light hanging above the foyer was dim, like every other light in this house, waning with overusing and straining to continue shedding light. Casting a haunting orange glow about the room, Haru found herself growing sleepy, eyes fluttering and straining to remain open._

_There: the iron gate at the entry creaked. Perking up, Haru sat up straight, watching the door with excitement. A few moments passed as she held her breath in anticipation. _

_Haru was not the only one who heard the gate. Miss Yuuka came streaming out from the kitchen, wiping her hands with a dish towel as she threw a look to Haru. "Shouldn't you be in bed, Haru-chan?"_

_The girl didn't make a move, simply watching as the woman stood in the doorway and threw the door open. Both of them knew that she wasn't going to move, not until she was unable to physically keep herself awake. Haru strained to see around her figure, the lack of light combining with the obtrusion to block her line of sight. Even then, in her heart, Haru knew. Even before Miss Yuuka gasped, gaped, freezing in the doorway._

"_Rei-chan!" _

_No one moved. For a moment the world froze, not a person breathing. Then Haru lifted herself from the stairs, rushing forward to meet her friend, a brilliant smile on her face._

_Pushing her way around Miss Yuuka, Haru froze._

_Black hair wet and tangled, it did little to obscure her crestfallen face as the tendrils were plastered to her skin. A welt, angry and red, line her right eye, face swollen in agitation. There were other marks on her neck and arms, lacerations that had already healed but left the tell tale crusty red lines on her skin. Little was hidden, what with Rei still dressed in a sleeping yukata, hands balled at her sides. _

_Haru moved at the same time as Miss Yuuka, both of them grabbing one of Rei's hands and leading her into the house. The girl did not resist, only sniffling in response. Her hand gripped Haru's tightly, pain registering on Haru's mind from the tightness with which Rei held onto her hand, but she cared little. The pain meant that Rei was really here, that she was back. But at what cost? Blue eyes could only stare in confusion between her best friend and their caretaker as they were led into the dining room, the two of them sitting on a couple of chairs as Yuuka disappeared into the kitchen. Rei had refused to let Haru's hand go, only loosening her grip slightly as Haru enveloped her friend's hand in both of her own. _

"_Rei-chan…"_

_Rei's free hand reached up to wipe away the tears that began to fall, another loud sniffle coming from her. It was then that Miss Yuuka appeared with a first aid kit to take care of the welt on her face. Silence, save for the stifled crying of the girl that had suddenly appeared back on their doorstep. _

"_Rei-chan, did you run away from your home?"_

_For a moment she simply sat, staring blankly at her intertwined hands. It was when Yuuka pulled away to look at Rei properly that she finally answered in a whisper._

"_I don't want to go back anymore."_

_No further words were necessary. Patching the young girl as best as she could, with nothing much to do with the already healed wounds, Yuuka stood up fully, looking at the two. "Go to sleep. You'll be safe here." _

_Sliding from the chair, Haru followed Rei's lead, the two of them walking hand in hand back up the stairs and to their bedroom. Rei's belongings had been taken, the empty futon stacked up in the corner. Neither were big enough to take it down, Haru instead lifting up the blankets to her futon instead. The bed was big enough for the two of them, and they curled up next to one another._

_There was no need for words, no need for any explanations. It was simply the reality of their situation, one that everyone that lived under this roof intimately understood. Even if each kid came from a different family, and no family was the same, the pattern was established. _

_True orphans were rare. Most of them were simply unwanted, born into families that could not afford them financially or even mentally. The unlucky few that were born into this world were forced to live under that reality, thrown into orphanages while still knowing their parents. It was a dichotomy; the parents could not afford to keep them, but neither could they bear the shame of being forced to give up their children. Rei, like so many others, lived in a limbo. She was forced to spend most of her days in an orphanage until her mother decided that she wanted to have her child back, then forced to realize after a few days that she was unfit for motherhood. Then, back into the home she went, biding her time until her mother cycled around once again. It was a bitter cycle, one that both kept Rei's hopes up and crushed it repeatedly, again and again. Hope that her mother still loved her and would take her back, demolished by the fact that that woman was mentally unfit, obsessed with other worldly distractions that ultimately led to her forgetting the fact that her daughter was still sitting in front of her, waiting, watching. _

_But now that Rei was old enough to understand, she had enough. There would be no more of her mother's false hopes coming to take her away, no more nights where she watched her father return complaining either about his sobriety or how much more he needed to lose his mind. No longer would she watch him beat her mother, beat his own daughter. She was too young to understand, but old enough to know that enough was enough. Rei was old enough to unlatch the door, to run down the street, to make it all the way back to the orphanage without turning back. _

_She was just lucky that she had someone waiting for her, someone who truly and earnestly wanted her back. Huddling under the blankets the two eventually fell into an uneasy sleep, the uncertainty of the world jabbing at their backs and shaking the ground. Even if the world fell apart, at least Haru would never leave._

_She was old enough to understand some things, but not yet others._

* * *

School was school was school, no matter where you went. At least that much was apparent after delving into the first day of academics.

At least Rei had gone through enough preparation to start on the right foot. Even in regular classes the standard was high, as expected of the top hero school in the nation. It was obvious that no one was allowed to slack off in any aspect, instead being pushed to the best of their abilities. As Rei sat in her seat in the back corner she scribbled articulate notes furiously, doing her best to keep up with the teachers during the day.

It was all she could do to keep her head screwed tightly onto her shoulders and deal with the heavy flow of information until lunch time, slightly dazed as their noon break finally came about. The class had all filed out to the mess hall, chattering away in groups that had already begun to form. Rei took her time packing up her belongings and organizing everything, watching for the last of her peers to disappear out of the classroom before taking out her own lunch and tucking it under her arm. Standing with a sigh, she stretched briefly, feeling her joints popping in a satisfactory manner before she was off.

She had heard about U.A.'s mess hall, a legendary feature where deluxe meals were offered at reasonable prices. But for the first day of class the current kitchen director of the orphanage had packed a bento for her, a good luck gift for her first day of classes at the prestigious high school. Rei was many things, but she was never wasteful; though she was certainly disappointed at having to delay her visit to the cafeteria, she was nonetheless thankful and touched by the sentiments of those in the orphanage. Walking through the corridors by herself, she wandered outside to find a good tree to sit under.

Well, it also saved money too. And that was something that Rei valued most.

Good people were hard to come by at the orphanage. It was why Rei made sure to be thankful for every good gesture that came from any of the staff, which was hard to come by as things were. As she grew older, Rei came to understand exactly why the problem existed; funding was severely lacking for orphanages, which therefore lacked the resources to hire committed individuals. If good people came along, they never stayed for long. Enticing and even living salaries were scarce, and even the most well-meaning individuals would eventually give up for more lucrative options. It was the nature of the world, being driven by money as is. Even Rei couldn't deny that part of the reason she had decided on becoming a hero was for the money. Who could reject the possibility of a future with financial security?

With her bento clutched tightly in her hand, Rei found a grove of trees that was devoid of any people. Plopping herself halfway in the shade, she carefully unpacked the box, lifting the lid to reveal a piece of fish surrounded by various cold vegetable dishes and white rice. Mouth watering with anticipation she dug in immediately, savoring the taste of the crispy fish and all the other pickled vegetables as they mixed in her mouth. The current cook for the orphanage really was something else; Rei had never known that miso soup could taste so good in her life. Letting her mind relax for the first time during the day, she slowly began to unwind, shifting so that she could sit more in the sun. It was still chilly in March, but the sun warmed her bones and lifted her attitude.

After finishing the meal she repacked the items carefully, setting the box aside as she pondered her next step. What should she do next? As tempting as it was to take a short nap in the sun, it was probably wiser to head back inside and study her notes. Present Mic's lecture on articles was familiar material, but he spoke rather quickly and in an eccentric manner that made it difficult for Rei to follow. Scowling at her inner conflict, she snatched the bento and began to walk back to the building.

Might as well start the first term strong.

* * *

On second thought, maybe she should have taken a break.

How could she have forgotten about hero training? The one thing that seriously stood out against normal high schools? Apparently, in her search to stay on top of academics, she had completely forgotten about this small detail, eyes twitching as All Might had pranced into the classroom.

Literally. The man pranced.

As soon as she saw him, her heart had both fluttered from seeing such a famous hero and had stuttered from the knowledge that they were about to partake in something that was probably incredibly rigorous.

She would be mentally fried for this next part.

But at least their uniforms had come in, one of the refreshing pieces of information that came in and made Rei perk up in excitement. With everyone rejuvenated and excited for the next class, they had nearly sprinted into the changing rooms like a stampede, everyone talking loudly and excitedly. Rei had simply found a quiet corner to change, pulling out the rectangular box emblazoned with the number "twenty-one" on the sides. Opening the briefcase with a click and pulling out the material, she smiled.

When they had been asked to submit their costume preferences along with drawings and references, Rei had been skeptical. How were any designers to know exactly what she wanted without even meeting her face to face? Surely they were going to mess something up. But as Rei ran her fingers over the material, she had to be impressed.

A small letter dropped from the folds, and Rei picked it up gingerly. Scanning through it quickly, she read through the specs that the suit offered, along with other changes. Interestingly enough, the material had been changed from the requested carbon fiber to a fiber-reinforced polymer, due to the fact that carbon fiber was incredibly rigid and thus was unsuited for her quirk. Tugging on the suit and testing it out, she watched as the black material shimmered gray in the reflected light, a subtle difference that brought a small smile to her face. Subtle, but still stylish. She no longer knew why she had been worried, what with the changes they had made to make it much more… her.

The uniform was a black jumpsuit with long fitted sleeves, a high neck, and skin tight pants. Fortunately it was fairly breathable and flexible, offering the durability Rei had wanted while not sacrificing movability. A black fitted hoodie with three-quarter sleeves added another layer of protection, hiding inner pockets of various weapons and a utility belt and waist brace that had even more pockets and tools. Black gloves that reached her elbows hid grappling hooks, deceptively slender and skin tight, unlike many of the bulky hero costumes she often saw. Everything was black, including the face mask that was similar to the one she wore in the mornings, save for the fact that it was of much higher quality.

It fit. Not just in size, but to her expectations and desires. She had no desire to be a flashy hero, soaring through the skies. She was content to fly in the darkness, subtly making her way and taking villains down one by one in the shadows. The all black, fitted, and sleek uniform was everything she had ever wanted.

If only she could show her mentor…

"Akatsuki-san, you look great!"

It was Uraraka who bounced over to the stalwart girl, excitedly shaking her hands around as she jumped up and down. "You look like a secret assassin!"

Rei's lip quirk behind the face mask at her playfulness and spot on analysis. "Well, that _is_ the point."

The bubbly girl paused, not expecting such a response. "Eh? Really?"

"Are you two ready?"

The rest of the girls had finished suiting up, an excited Ashido waving Uraraka over. Running to catch up with the rest, Uraraka sped forward, leaving Rei behind as she calmly followed behind the group.

A secret assassin, huh? Rei laughed to herself. Uraraka had no idea.

* * *

"_Team C vs. Team G! You have ten minutes to prepare!" _

"So, does anyone have any ideas?"

As expected of U.A.; the student had been thrown right into hero basic training. Almost literally. Starting the first day of classes with a practical component was brutal, but at least it was realistic. If they were to move forward, it wouldn't be practical to spend a day with syllabi and monotonous rules. It was reminiscent of how Aizawa-sensei had taken them out of the formalities of the opening ceremony, instead putting them to work and testing their quirks on a day usually reserved for more of the logistical sides of high school. Or perhaps testing their quirks again was a part of the logistics? Either way, it was clear that hero basic training ran along a similar line of ideas and it time to get into the thick of things, and Rei was itching to prove herself. She was ready.

Well, as much as she could be. There was only the problem of how to deal with their team battle now and put together a plan.

With an odd number of people in their class, there was one team of three. Luck of the draw determined that Rei was placed on a team with Jirou and Kaminari, placing them against Yaoyorozu and Mineta. It was favorable that they had more people in theory, but a frown had immediately spread across Rei's face as she had heard their team; more people meant more moving pieces and more individuals that she had to play nice with. Frankly, she would have been much happier to go through with the practical on her own, but not only was that illogical with how many students were in the class, but also irrational on her end. Even if she preferred to work alone, that wasn't always the smartest idea in the field. Solo players could end up getting backed into a corner in the real world.

It was with grudging acquiesence that she joined her team and introduced herself, listening along to the other two as they chattered a bit more amiably. Taking the time to observe her partners, she simply bided her time, leading the way to their position as they began to wait outside the building for their faux mission. Real threat or not, she had to perform well. Her grades depended on this-hell, even she was cognizent of the fact that All Might himself was watching, and she wanted to make a good impression on the world's number one hero.

But first they needed a win.

Jirou folded her arms, one hand playing with her earphone jacks as she twirled it around her finger. "Well, Yaoyorozu-san has an incredible quirk. It'll be hard to guess what she's planning, what with anything she can do."

Heaving a sigh and folding his hands behind his head, Kaminari closed his eyes briefly. "Agh, you're right about that. Such a troublesome quirk to go up against…"

Rei tilted her head, blinking steadily. "Actually, I have an idea."

The electric users turned to their third teammate, questions on their faces. Rei looked between the two of them, face even more serious that she had been before. "Yaoyorozu-san may have an incredible quirk, but she'll most likely begin with some sort of defenses, something to block us or throw us off guard. If we can get past that, then it'll be an easy fight."

Jirou frowned at the analysis. "I doubt it'll be an easy fight, but-"

"Trust me." Rei's face was contemplative, but still held confidence. Her brain was buzzing with an idea, processing the probabilities of its success and the risks that were included. "From what I could see during the tests yesterday, neither are the most athletic. It's easy to say that most of them haven't had any severe combat training, or real life fighting experience."

"That's right!" Kaminari's face brightened, the two girls turning to him as he pounded his fists energetically. "Akatsuki-san, you're a natural fighter, aren't you? You're super athletic and cool! As long as we can back you up, you'll have no problem getting through."

Scratching the back of her head sheepishly, Rei turned her face away. "Uh, thanks. But I think I might have a better idea than fighting."

Now that the group had a starting point, the hype started to rise. Jirou and Kaminari looked even more hopeful than before as the three of them began to brainstorm. "So, what's the plan?" Jirou turned to Rei, who was becoming more and more their leader with every moment. "Are we going to capture the villains, or retrieve the bomb?"

Rei grinned, a feral looking action that sent shivers down her teammates' spines. "First, tell me more about your quirks. What can you do?"

* * *

"_Team C and Team G! Match, start!"_

Almost immediately after the announcement, a blur flew past the window, launching high into the sky. Mineta ran to the window in shock, straining to look up to the roof but failing to see any other movement. "Ah! Someone's on the roof! They're going to come in through the top!"

Yaoyorozu frowned, a thoughtful look on her face as she ran through the potential outcomes. Surely the person who made it to the roof was Akatsuki-san, with her incredible leaping powers she had demonstrated the day prior. But if that was the case…

Shaking her head, the brainiac looked back toward the door. "No, it must be a diversion to make us think they'll be using the roof. There are a few lines of sight that would have been better to slip by us unseen." Satisfied with her assumption, Yaoyorozu produced a metal pole, readying herself for the fight. "Be ready, Mineta-san."

"Y-yeah…" The duo slid into defensive stances, Yaoyorozu much more confident than Mineta, even as her mind raced. What was the other team thinking? No, focus; they had revealed their location too close to the beginning of the task. It was certainly a diversion, and Akatsuki would be making her way back down to her other two teammates. It would only be a matter of time before they found the barricaded door…

Silence. Mineta was sweating with anticipation, groaning and straining from the tension as his focus threatened to break under pressure. Next to him Yaoyorozu continued to think about ways to defend their location, all while wonder just where their opponents were. What was taking them so long? Surely they knew where the bomb was at this point.

Footsteps in the hallway. The two acting villains waited with baited breath, straining their hearing to listen for the telltale signs of their opponents on the other side of the door. The footsteps stopped near the door, pausing for a moment before continuing down the hall. Yaoyorozu breathed a sigh of relief. So they weren't going to try and bust through. It had been fortuitous that she had picked such an option then, since she hadn't any idea of just what their opponents were capable off.

"Waaaaghhhh!" The girl jumped as her compatriot wailed, shoulders slumping. "I can't take this anymore! I don't wanna be a villain! I didn't sign up for this!"

"Mineta-san, quiet down, please!" Thankfully the boy quieted his dramatic sobs as Yaoyorozu looked back to the door. With the sudden distraction she had lost track of where the footsteps had gone. Had they gone around to try and find another route? Maybe she should have thought about stuffing the vents with some sort of barrier too. Going off an estimate of her own sense of time, it was likely that they hadn't even reached the halfway point yet. Who knew what the other group was planning-

_BOOM_

Hands flew up to her ears instinctually even as she held onto her weapon, flinching away at the sudden explosion. The dust hadn't even cleared as Kaminari and Jirou flew into the room, a grin on the boy's face as he took in the villain teams' expressions.

"Sorry to crash the party! Couldn't help but notice you barred the door."

There was no time to react, as suddenly the two villains fell to their knees, Jirou's heartbeat amplified to send them to their knees. Gritting her teeth, Yaoyorozu began to fight against the attack as it slowly began to weaken, grasping the weapon in her hands. "Mineta-san, we have to defend the bomb!"

"_Hero team wins!" _

Both Yaoyorozu and Mineta blinked, looking at the duo ahead of them. "Huh?" It was then that Yaoyorozu's heart dropped, realizing her mistake. _There's only two of them here. That means…_ Turning her head to look behind her, black eyes widened at the causal figure that stood behind them, leaning against the bomb.

* * *

"_First, tell me more about your quirks. What can you do?"_

_Jirou was the first to recover, getting down to business. "With my quirk I can amplify my heartbeat to incapacitate enemies. I can also listen to walls and the ground to determine where everyone is." _

"_Perfect." Rei nodded curtly, mind working quickly. "Then you can determine where the enemies are and where the bomb is?"_

"_Leave it to me." _

_Kaminari jolted as Rei turned her gaze to look at him, enough to make him pause before stuttering out a response. "Oh! I can cover my body in electricity. I can send out charges too, but too much and my brain gets all fuzzy. Also, I can't really pick a target…" He trailed off sheepishly, a bit embarrassed to admit such things, but Rei only nodded seriously. _

"_Good. Here's what we'll do. I'll launch myself onto the roof immediately at the start of the test in order to draw their attention. Knowing Yaoyorozu, she'll call a bluff immediately, since there are multiple ways of getting to the top of the building without being seen. I'll need you two to determine exactly where they are and force an entrance to draw their attention." _

"_And you?" Both teammates looked in confusion. "What will you do?"_

"_It won't be a bluff." Seeing their blank looks slowly fill with realization gave Rei some hope. At least her teammates weren't dunderheads. Another plus, seeing as how they were already trusting her with the plan of attack. Perhaps working with this team wasn't so bad as she initially had imagined. "I'll infiltrate the vent system in order to get into the room. We'll coordinate our entrance so that you'll obscure mine, and I'll sneak around their backs to retrieve the bomb." _

"_And what if it doesn't work? What if Yaoyorozu knows you're coming?"_

_Rei turned to Jirou, crossing her arms, although not irritated. It was a valid concern, but Rei was confident. "She'll definitely think twice about me on the roof, but I'm confident that she won't overthink it. She's careful and meticulous, but I doubt she's been duped like this before." _

_Jirou and Kaminari looked at each other for a moment before Jirou shrugged her shoulders, turning back to Rei. "It's the best plan we have. We'll just have to see things through." _

"_Don't worry about it. You two kept your quirks pretty much hidden away during the testing yesterday. They won't expect to get hit hard and fast like this." _

_Grinning and clapping his hands together, small sparks flew in Kaminari's grip. "It's a plan then." _

_With a small smile and a curt nod, Rei began to walk away to position herself. "I'm relying on you two to make a big entrance, so make it count." _

"_Don't worry, Akatsuki-san. It'll be electrifying." _

* * *

The groups had reconvened for the analysis portion, the five competing members standing in a line and receiving analysis.

"Yosh! The MVP for this match is…" All-Might pointed at Rei dramatically with a flourish. "Akatsuki Rei! Can anyone tell me why?"

Immediately a hand flew up from the middle of the group, a tense Iida looking about ready to burst with some comment. "Excuse me! But shouldn't it go to Jirou-san or Kaminari-san?"

Rei folded in on herself instinctively, a bit hurt at the comment. Surely Iida was right in some ways; Rei had been missing from most of the actions, and she was more than happy to give the title of MVP to the two peers that had followed her plan nearly on a whim. But hearing such things come from Iida's mouth left a bitter taste in her own. Scoffing and narrowing her eyes dangerously, she cursed his bones mentally. She hated these rich kids that pretended to know everything, and Iida wasn't the only one. Out of the corner of her eye she looked over to Yaoyorozu, who had begun raising her hand as well but stopped after seeing the look she received from the other black haired girl next to her.

But All Might seemed to miss the look Rei was giving her, instead calling on the her competitor with a wide grin on his face. "Miss Yaoyorozu, you have something to say?"

"Akatsuki-san deserves the MVP, because she read me clearly."

Raising an eyebrow, Rei was filled with surprise. So it seemed as though the girl now retroactively recognized her mistake. Still, her gunmetal eyes were resolved to not meet Rei's own gold, as though nervous of what would happen if she did. Rei scoffed, rolling her eyes. _Coward. _But the other girl's answer seemed to appease All Might, who praised her insight. "Correct! Akatsuki-san was able to read into Yaoyorozu's mind, even if they do not know each other well yet, proving her ability to read an enemy with little information. That is an incredibly useful skill!"

The class buzzed at the conclusion. "But Akatsuki didn't do anything until the end." A red headed boy stepped forward with confusion, scratching his cheek as though still unable to see the reasoning behind their teacher's decision.

Rei could feel a fire in her chest, an anger instinctively rising. How much did she need to do in order to prove herself here? Taking a step forward, she had half a mind to fight the next person who questioned her and take them down, but it was Jirou who rested a hand on Rei's shoulder, taking her by surprise.

"Actually, it was all Akatsuki's plan. She was the one who decided to provide the distraction and sneak through the vents while we came in the front and provided the distraction."

"Woah, really?"

"I completely misread her…"

"Her quirk's not flashy, but she's smart."

A tangle of emotions twisted in her chest; gratitude and confusion at Jirou's defense, anger and bitterness at the rest of the class for doubting her. But it appeared as though their time was up, All Might calling out the next group and sending them on their way. It effectively dissipated the formal nature of the classroom, everyone breaking down into groups. Rei found herself alone for a moment before noticing someone's approach.

To her surprise, it was Yaoyorozu. There was a disappointed look on her face, and even though she refused to make eye contact with Rei she was definitely approaching her with intent. Finally her face lifted to look at Rei, who stared blankly back. "How did you know what I would do?"

For a moment Rei simply looked at the girl, scrutinizing her from head to toe and watching the way that she flinched under her gaze without emotion. This girl was one of the four who had gotten into U.A. through the recommendation process, possessing a brilliant mind and even more stellar contacts. Rei wondered what it was like to have so many people believing in her and her abilities, enough to recommend her so that she could get around the entrance exam. It filled Rei with inexplicable rage, a fire in her gut the longer she looked at the shy girl that wilted under Rei's strong gaze. Did she even realize how lucky she was, to have people supporting her like that? They came from two completely different worlds, something that Rei was naturally jealous of.

Scoffing, Rei looked away. "You're too easy to predict. I could tell that you live in books and analysis. Mind games are not your strong suit."

"Mind games…" She trailed off, a look of concern coming on her face. "Then, I need more experience."

There was just something about her that riled Rei. Perhaps she just wasn't a fan of the wealthy who paraded on their connections and the start life had given them without fully realizing the consequences. "Get real. You'll need more than that if you ever want to catch up."

"I don't understand. Why are you so angry? We're classmates, no longer fighting."

Rei took a step toward the girl, who naturally backed away from the invasion of her space. Gold eyes glittered even in the low light of the room that was provided from the multiple screens spread across the wall. "I've been fighting all my life to get here. I don't care about being the number one hero, but I'll take down anyone who stands in my way of my goals."

Stepping away and effectively ending the conversation, Rei moved away from the group, turning her back on her competitor to seethe on her own. A part of her internally screamed; hadn't she just thought yesterday that she didn't want to make any enemies? But there was no going back; Rei couldn't handle the thought of some of these pretentious rich kids lording themselves over here. Even if they didn't realize it, their mannerisms and blindness to their fortune was irritating, small cuts and nicks that bit into Rei's exterior and chipped away at her inner self. That was the way it had always been, living in an exhausting world where everything was pitted against her, whether they realized it or not.

Standing slightly off to the side, Rei watched the cameras as they began to pick up and swivel towards the next two teams. Whatever. There was no time to look back, only forward.

* * *

AN: Wow, I had no idea people would be excited about this story o_o But thank you so much for your reviews! I'm glad some of you are looking forward to what I have. Sorry it took a little bit to get this chapter out; this is one of the chapters I partially finished, then never returned to in order to complete it/ add details. So I just finished it this morning, seeing as how some people are excited!

Please leave reviews if you like it, or if you have something to add! Let me know how I'm doing.

**Edit (5/31/19):** Basic grammar/ syntax changes, as well as some minor detail additions.


	3. A Fighting Chance

Chapter 3

A Fighting Chance

* * *

"_Haru? Haru!" _

_Rei called out her friend's name, hand raised to her mouth as she tried not to shout too loudly. She had been walking around the school grounds for a few minutes now, searching for her best friend. It was strange and out of the ordinary that Haru had vanished. She had mentioned something about using the bathroom, but she had never returned to their homeroom to meet back with Rei and pick up her bag. Shouldering both their packs on her back, Rei had taken to walking around the school, looking for her friend. _

"_Haru?" She called out to the front of the school, having searched almost everywhere else. The bathroom, the nurse's office, the athletic fields, everywhere. Haru was nowhere to be found. A frown on her face, Rei huffed, blowing her choppy and uneven bangs out of her eyes. Where in the world was she?_

_Her ears picked up something. A few boys talking, just around the corner of the building, near where the wall ran. Slowly she approached the corner, peering around to see what was going on. Eyes wide, she burst around the corner, dropping her bags and flying forward. "Oi!"_

_A group of five boys surrounded a terrified Haru, curled on the ground in distress. Her face was hidden behind her hands as she folded in on herself, ash blonde tresses tangled around her in the dirt. Upon hearing Rei's exclamation the five boys turned slowly to see the newcomer._

_They turned too late._

_Three of them were sent flying by a kick as Rei flew almost perfectly horizontally through the air, dropping her foot into one boy's gut and sending him into two other boys that had the misfortune of standing behind him. The two remaining boys had frozen in panic at being caught, one of them receiving a quick punch to the face, Rei decking him and immediately dropping him to the ground. Grabbing the last boy's collar Rei held him in a vice grip, aiming a fist at his face menacingly and baring her teeth. Even though she was shorter than him, the wild look in her eyes had him scared shitless, blubbering in a frenzied mess as he tried to communicate something to no effect._

_With a final growl she punched him square in the face, dropping him to the ground in disgust. The three boys she had sent down first were beginning to recover, still heaving from being sent into the ground so quickly. Rei stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at them. "Get lost! And don't ever pick on Haru again, or else I'll come straight for you and beat you up even more!" _

_Gathering their mangled prides, the five of them went running off, scattering toward the front of the school. Rei refused to let her guard drop until all five of them went around the corner, heaving a sigh as she turned her attention back to her friend. _

_Haru had begun to pull herself up from the ground, sitting up straight and brushing the dirt off of her jacket. She was scowling until she noticed Rei's concerned look returning to her, heaving a sigh and face turning soft with apology. "Sorry, Rei. They made me come out here." _

"_Did they get you?" Rei made her way to her best friend, extending a hand. Haru offered a small grin, readily accepting Rei's strong grip as she hauled the blonde to her feet. _

"_Not before I got a couple hits in." _

_The smile on Rei's face stretched her mouth, a grin mixed with pride and dreams of retribution. "Good." Now that the two of them were up and running, they walked side by side back to their bags, Rei with a hand on Haru's shoulder. It was getting to be more difficult now that Haru was growing taller than her, Rei still at a measly four feet while Haru stretched beyond. But Haru subtly slumped her shoulders so that Rei could continue the motion, the two walking with tired grins. _

"_Wanna head home?"_

"_Nah, let's go to the river first. I wanna see if I can get another rock for Hana, she lost that sparkly black and white one the other day."_

"_Really? She never lets that thing out of her sight."_

"_Yeah, but I think she took it to show and tell. Isn't her quirk levitation?"_

"_That doesn't mean she should take her favorite stone…"_

"_Ehh, you know Hana. Almost as stubborn as me." _

"_Almost? Can anyone be as stubborn as you?"_

"_Ahh, shuddup, Haru."_

* * *

_Everyone knew Haru and Rei. The two sisters, thick as thieves, always up to some sort of mischief. At the orphanage they were infamous, always known to stick up for the younger kids and stand up to the older ones. Even while their quirks developed they were as fierce as a storm, both wind and sea, working together to accomplish whatever it was they set their minds to. _

_With her messy, short, black hair and golden eyes that seemed to glitter in the dark, Akatsuki Rei was undeniably the more mischievous one, even if it wasn't for her already naturally suspicious appearance what with the way her eyes held a penchance for fun. Her gaze unnerved almost everyone, especially when she was up to no good, eyes that were more often than not alit with a fire of something dangerous. It was obvious in the way that she smiled maniacally, a sure sign to stay out of her way until the trouble was up. She was the impulse, the brawn behind their operations, the match to the fuse. _

_And yet, Haru was just as bad. With her pristine blonde locks and sparkling blue eyes she was the image of a perfect doll, an angelic looking child that drew everyone's awe. It was a charm that was effectively deceptive; she had been adopted multiple times, only to be brought back with strained looks and horrified parents who were more than ready to get her off their hands. She would never leave Rei alone, and would throw wonderful fits that would shake the heavens themselves until she got her way. After multiple tries, the orphanage eventually gave up on trying to find a match for Haru, simply accepting the fact that she was a permanent fixture by choice._

_Certainly, the situations that Haru had been adopted into were sometimes near perfect. Wealthy couples, unable to produce children, offering all the wealth and comfort that Haru or any child could want. But no one could get her Rei, so with Rei she stayed through thick and thin. _

_Matsuma Yuuka had worked at the orphanage since Rei had been first brought. She had nurtured the child herself, seen her grow into the feisty girl she was now. She remembered the day that Haru had been brought in, a shadow of a child that flickered hesitantly. Yuuka had purposefully introduced Haru to Rei in the hopes that the later would bring out the former's personality and give her another shot at life. It had worked all too well. Yuuka would never play favorites in the open, but Rei and Haru had a special place in her heart. _

_She had been with the two every step of the way. She had been the one to accept Haru back every time the huffy couples had resigned to the child's temperament, the orphanage worker admonishing the young girl while also completely understanding why she chose to remain, never quite able to banish the smile on her face even as she reprimanded the young girl. Unlike Haru, Rei's parents had never given permission for her to be readopted by someone else. Even after the incident where Rei had run all the way home, her mother appearing on the doorstep of the orphanage four days later to take her daughter back, Yuuka had only chased the woman away, vowing that she and her filthy husband would never take Rei again. She hadn't gotten permission before or then by the mother or father for Rei's readoption; they had simply vanished, almost overnight. It seemed to be Rei's fate that she would be stuck at the orphanage until she aged out or decided to leave, whenever that may be. But she was never alone._

_Yuuka had seen too many children pass through the orphanage's doors. Most of them were like ghosts, unable to get a grip on life, wasting away through elementary and junior high before vanishing into the dark streets, never to be seen again. There were always rumors of where they went; some found jobs, some met up with other kids, some moved away. The darkest ones involved the criminal underworld, which no one wanted to face, but everyone knew that its gaping jaws were simply waiting to devour the forgotten children that the orphanage housed. _

_It wasn't the children's fault that they felt forced to such ends. They were products of a system that hated their guts, simply for reasons that they could not control. The children in the orphanage were seen as less than trash, unloved children whose parents were foolish enough to bring a child into the world when they could not care for them. Once abandoned they were treated as lesser even by their own peers in school, based on the biases of their parents. It wasn't uncommon for one of their children to be told to never associate with a classmate by a defensive parent. How could people do such things, speak such cruel words to a person who had no choice? _

_The bullying and the stigmas even from some of their teachers forced students to become less engaged, falling behind in school work and eventually leading to their failure. Most ended their education at middle school, slinking off into the world and into a job market that didn't want them either. It was hopeless, depressing, and full of despair. Yuuka had watched some of their older kids vanish into the world, leaving her to wonder what had happened._

_That was why she held onto Rei and Haru. No matter how many times Haru was sent back, no matter how much mischief Rei pulled around the house, Yuuka kept them under a stern but loving hand. They were the first ones that had a fighting chance in this world, and if they received enough guidance, they might survive. _

_She would give them a fighting chance, if it was the last thing she did._

* * *

"_So, who were those kids anyway?"_

_The two of them had spent the afternoon walking up and down the river bank, picking up various stones that they liked and pocketing them for later. After retrieving their stones they made their way to one of the bridges with little traffic, sitting down and dangling their legs over the side of the small bridge, tossing rocks back down into the water. The sun was starting to set in the distance behind them, the sky a bright orange that was reflected in the water._

_Haru scowled, throwing the rock harder than usual. "Some kids from class 3-A. They know Ishimaru." _

_Rei rolled her eyes, the news putting a small damper on her mood, though she was still more irritated than anything to be completely subdued. "Damn it, those asswipes." _

"_Language," Haru chided, picking at the pile of rocks next to her, determining her next choice. "Miss Yuuka wouldn't approve."_

"_Miss Yuuka isn't here, and I say those kids are asswipes." _

_It was enough to get a giggle from Haru, Rei's face brightening as her friend's countenance began to lift. The tall girl had been strangely quiet for most of the afternoon after the attack, and it unnerved Rei. Picking from her own pile of rocks, she took a particularly large stone and hucked it into the water. "They seriously need to get a life."_

"_Hey, Rei?" _

_Gold eyes turned to her friend, meeting sad blue orbs. Haru had put down her rocks, clasping her hands in her lap, strangely quiet. "Why do those kids have to beat us up? What have we ever done to them?"_

_It was Rei's turn to scowl, expression turning dark. "I dunno. I think it's just 'cuz they all have parents, and they don't know what we deal with. They think they're so much better than us, and they have to prove it." Rei growled, the faces of the kids she had beaten today in her head. She knew their type. "Stupid rich kids." _

"_Shouldn't it be the other way?"_

_Picking up another few rocks, Rei chucked them harder and harder. "Beats me. But some of the strong people have to pick on the weaker ones to make themselves feel better. At least, that's what Miss Yuuka said." _

_Haru pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her chin on her knees as she stared out to the orange waters in the distance. "But what about heroes like All Might? He doesn't pick on people, does he?"_

_Scowl deepening, Rei stopped throwing stones, leaning forward to rest her arms on the bridge. "No, I don't think he does. He's a hero, and heroes protect the weak and fight villains." _

"_But who'll protect us?"_

"_That's easy," Rei turned with a grin on her face, pointing a thumb at her chest, "I will! And you will too. We'll become heroes, and protect people from the bullies of the world." _

"_Heroes, huh?" Haru sighed, head bowed into her lap, hair covering her face from view. "I don't know. Don't you have to go to a lot of school for that? I don't know if I can do that." _

"_Of course you can!" Rei elbowed her friend playfully, knocking her off balance and evoking a cry from her friend. Even as Haru sent a piercing glare her way, Rei only laughed. "You're the brains of us two, and I'll be the brawn. With the two of us, there's nothing we can't do!" _

_With Rei's confidence, anything seemed possible. Haru began to perk up, a smile making its way onto her face as she considered the possibilities. "Yeah, you're right. You and me, we'll become heroes." _

"_Alright, Miss Shooting Star hero, I'm counting on you!"_

_At this Haru's face broke out into a full grin, the hero name they had coined as children warming her heart. "You too, Black Cat. I'm counting on you to watch my back." _

* * *

Why was it always Rei's luck that the people she hated the most always seemed to get the most recognition?

Class elections had happened on the second day of classes, and to almost no one's surprise (except the person's own), Midoriya was elected class president. The socially awkward boy that sat two seats in front of Rei was actually not a terrible choice; for all his social miscues, he was the most hard working and dedicated student in the class, a clear winner when it came to motivation. Rei hadn't voted for him, but wasn't terribly surprised or upset with the outcome.

But then there had been the chaos with the emergency evacuation, and somehow the ever annoying Iida had proven himself worthy in the eyes of the class. Not only that, but Yaoyorozu had been elected vice-president, putting the two most detestable people in Rei's eyes at the top and in charge. Perhaps "detestable" wasn't quite the right word, but Rei seethed every time she saw the two of them walking around without a care in the world, or every time they spoke with their articulate and pretentious vocabulary.

Rich kids. They were all the same. At Rei's elementary and middle school they were the teacher's pets, the goody two shoes, the ones that constantly looked down upon those dirtier than them. So what if Rei didn't have parents, or had less money than them; in her mind, that didn't warrant terrible treatment or scoffing every time she tried to do something. But the apple never fell far from the tree, and the spawns of the affluent copied every pretentious and snotty thing that their parents did, including their inheritance of disdain for Rei's kind.

Iida was too uptight for Rei's liking. That would have been fine, if he also didn't tout his ideologies around and attempt to enforce them on everyone else, like when he had told Rei to remove her face mask for violating the dress code. Accompanied with a ridiculously loud voice that projected everywhere and was all encompassing no matter the space and his awkward, constantly moving gestures, there was much for Rei to dislike. He was the headache Rei saw coming from a mile away, and while he was often rational and provided brilliant insights, he was simply… too much to handle. Especially with Rei's sharp hearing, she detested his bellowing voice, cringing almost every time he shouted an answer.

Then there was Yaoyorozu. Where Iida was loud, at least the girl was softer spoken. But where she lacked in overall loudness she more than made up for in the pretentious manner in which she spoke, often over explaining where five words would suffice. She was certainly regimented, but seemed to believe that she was always in the right when it came to logical deductions and class answers. What pissed Rei off the most was the fact that thus far, the rich girl _hadn't_ messed up or given a wrong answer, which only built her credibility and furthered her bossiness. Well-groomed and perfection incarnate to a tee, it was enough to make Rei gag. Sitting behind her only made her want to glare holes into the back of the girl's head, but that was too obvious and Rei was busy enough with the information in class, so she settled for seething quietly by herself.

Nearly a week had passed, and Rei had managed to stand on the fringes of the friend groups that were now forming. It was mostly due to the fact that she hid away during all her breaks, sneaking off with her packed lunch for the treeline near the athletic fields for some peace, quiet, and sunlight. Everyone else ate in the cafeteria, but Rei couldn't bring herself to spend her hard earned money, no matter how inexpensive the lunch was. It was still something that she had to pay for, and if she could make a meal back at the orphanage then that was at least one area where she could pinch her pennies.

At least her part-time job paid decently. She had established the connection in middle school, and spent all her breaks and weekends helping in the small cafe and bakery. As an assistant to the baker she was up earlier than almost everyone, sometimes starting at three or four in the morning and working until seven. Some days, whenever she had the time, she would bus tables and do other small odd jobs for the small business, but now that she was in high school time was precious. She would have to suffer long days on Saturday if she wanted to keep making a decent amount of income, what with waking up early and attending class all day. That was why she didn't want to spend any more money than necessary; her wallet was tight as is, and home cooked meals worked fine. Why pay for food she could make herself?

A small part of her watched in longing as groups of three and four were clustered together, chatting and laughing as they walked down to grab lunch. She would never admit that out loud though. Forcing her thoughts away from friends, she focused on her academics and her own improvements. It was for the future, and she wasn't here to make friends. She was here to do well to get a good job, and eventually become a hero.

She would never admit that those thoughts did little to dissuade her.

She would never admit that she was lonely.

* * *

Of course, her luck always made a turn for the worst.

"Alright! I hope you zygotes are ready for what we're doing today!"

All Might's voice held most people enraptured, but his loud and over-exaggerated manner of explaining things was already beginning to get to Rei. Her hearing was much more sensitive than most people, which came with the distinct tendency to become quickly annoyed by any, louder-than-strictly-necessary, noises. Sure, it was certainly a gift that would be handy for anyone, especially a hero, but on school days like this Rei found herself hating her own giftedness.

If only other people came with volume knobs that she could turn down at will.

But that was wishful thinking for another time. The class had arrived at Ground Beta in costume, ready for another day of hero basic training. The first class seemed so close, yet so far away as each student stood in anticipation, ready for what excitements and tests awaited them. Standing at the front of the group, All Might continued to explain, holding everyone's attention as they waited with baited breath for instruction. Even Rei, irritated as she was with arms folded over her chest, watched him carefully with golden eyes that sparkled in excitement.

"Today we'll be running through another combat situation similar to the first day of class. But this time, there's a new twist. Can you guess what it is?" With a dramatic flourish, he whipped out a strange mannequin out of seemingly nowhere. Rei blinked blankly at the sudden appearance of the pale, floppy-looking doll that was dressed in a nondescript U.A. uniform. Where had he been hiding it, all this time?

"This time, the villains will be guarding mock civilians. The hero team must place these stickers," he pulled out a roll of bright yellow stickers with the word "RESCUED" in bold and all caps on them, leaving Rei to consider just how All Might was conjuring these items out of seemingly nowhere as he continued, "on the civilians in order to rescue them.

"There will be a total of five civilians," he continued, flashing five fingers before the group, "After the mission starts, you cannot touch or move the civilians, unless you are a hero placing a sticker on the mannequin. Any questions?"

Rei didn't even have to look around the classroom to know that Iida at least had raised his hand, the boy unable to proceed in any given situation without clear instruction. "Sensei! Are we to understand that, as implicitly understood, the same instructions as the last battle testing apply to this situation as well?"

All Might flashed a thumbs up in Iida's direction. Rei would have been satisfied with a more vulgar motion from herself, but she restrained, instead closing her eyes and breathing in deeply to try and steady her growing irritation. "Correct, young Iida! There will be a ten minute set up portion, followed by a fifteen minute practical! You are authorized to use your quirks inside the buildings, but keep in mind that this time, not only the buildings must remain intact, but the citizens as well." It was a clear direction at both Midoriya and Bakugou, the former flinching and casting his gaze immediately to his feet as he flushed in shame, while the latter merely scoffed in an irritated fashion and muttered something under his breath, clearly irritable.

The class for the most part seemed to understand everything, now waiting in anticipation for the teams to be announced. Pulling a remote out from his pocket, their teacher clicked a button as an electronic screen flashed before them, drawing twenty-one sets of eyes to the brilliant screen. Unlike before, it appeared as though the teams had already been selected and pitted against one another, a clear grid marking who was to go first.

Their teacher continued, confirming their observations. "Like last time, the teams were randomly paired. Are you ready?"

It didn't take long for Rei to find her name, golden eyes darting around. She couldn't help the vulgar curse that escaped her lips on instinct after seeing her partner, along with the people they were going up against.

"Shit."

"The fuck?!"

_**Hero Team | versus | Villain Team  
**__Team D | __**versus**_ _| Team C  
__Kirishima Eijirou, Iida Tenya | __**versus**_ _| Akatsuki Rei, Bakugou Katsuki_

Gold clashed with red, the two of them standing on opposite ends of the back of the group. Their outburst had slowly drawn everyone's attention as the entire class slowly began to take in the rest of the pairings after noting their own. They were more looking at Bakugou anyway, whose utterance had been much louder and more of an outburst that Rei, who had simply muttered her curse under her breath. But Rei could feel an equal number of eyes shifting between her partner and her, and she tried not to let it get to her. Of course they were curious; even if they hadn't been a cohesive class for long, every knew enough about the general natures of each classmate's personality. Bakugou was clearly the firecracker, the hot head, a competitor for one of the strongest in the class as well as one of the most outspoken and irrationally angry. Rei was the loner, the quiet mystery that had outsmarted the one person whom everyone had identified as one of the top and recommendations students, but still irritable and moody.

Out of all the pairs of eyes that were on her, one pair seemed almost too interested and invested in her reaction. Raising an eyebrow, she watched as All Might quickly turned his attention away after being noticed, amusing himself with some random task that seemed all too forced. Curious. And frankly, too suspicious. It made her wonder if this was some sort of test in itself, if these teams were so randomized as they were made out to be.

"Oi, cat eyes."

Gold eyes flashed dangerously, pupils morphing into slits for the most brief of moments as she turned towards her partner. She knew it was him by his approach, heavy footsteps and a simmering anger that was near palpable and tangible, like a dark storm cloud that followed him. As she turned her attention toward him she relished in the fact that he halted for the briefest of moments in his approach, though he hid the hitch well. She knew that her eyes could be daunting and borderline feral when others were unaccustomed to their cat-like state, and it was amusing to see that even Bakugou wasn't immune to their chilling look. But he barreled on, fists clenched and eyes narrowed at her, staring from behind the black mask on his face.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Rei beat him to the punch. "Just tell me if you're going to cooperate with me or not, so I can plan accordingly."

Scowling, he barked out a small laugh. "Think you're gonna be able to handle it on your own? Didn't think you were that dumb."

"I didn't say that, idiot."

"Oi, watch your mouth."

"Only if you consider your own advice."

"Why you-"

"Young Akatsuki! Young Bakugou!"

Perfect timing as ever, the two adolescents turned to face their teacher, staring at the mics in his hands before accepting them and placing them in their ears, listening for instructions. "Right, then. You're going to start in that building across the street in five minutes," he pointed to an eleven-story building across the street, rather ostentatious and standing out amongst the other buildings in the area as Rei noted its dark exterior. "I'll give you a mark through the headset as to when you can start setting up the building, then another when the hero team begins the test. The rest is up to you. Best of luck!"

Strangely enough, the two only nodded in assent at his well wishes, watching as he backed away, going to speak with their opposing hero team. Now Rei knew something was up; something was simply too convenient about this entire situation. Getting back to the point, Rei refolded her arms over her chest and turned back toward her partner, who was watching All Might with a strange look on his face. "Oi, get it together."

A snarl on his face, he leered toward Rei in an intimidating fashion. "Don't tell me what to do, you little bean sprout."

To her credit, she allowed the insult to roll off her shoulders for the moment, more interested in the test ahead of them. In the end, her competitive nature overran her desire to kick him to the next training ground for insulting her, and she managed to simply bristle to herself while shaking her head. "Then tell me; do you have a plan?"

"Yeah: win." Bakugou turned away, walking toward the building at a brisk pace. Heaving a sigh and rolling her eyes, Rei jogged a few steps before managing to fall into stride beside him, turning her head to look between him and the group they were leaving behind.

"Details, please." Silence, then a raised eyebrow from Rei. "Don't tell me you don't have a plan."

"Heroes don't need a plan, they just need to win."

"Aside from the fact that we're technically the villains right now, would you just humor me for a moment?" Exasperated, she let her hands fall to her sides as she watched his face carefully, noticing how he simply grunted again and fell into silence. Taking it as a sign that he was listening as well as he, the grumpy solo player, could best listen, she continued. "You were on a team with Iida already. What can you tell me about him?"

"Annoying as shit, fast hell apparently." As a silence began to stretch, Bakugou hazarded a glance at his partner, eye twitching as he took in her exasperated look. "What's that look for, shrimp?"

"All that I could glean on my own. Anything else that's actually useful?"

Even as a sarcastic tone took over her words, Bakugou managed to only seem vaguely irritated with her irritation. Instead he simply stared ahead in silence for a moment, gear turning. Finally, he spoke. "He thinks in very linear fashions. He's smart, but for the most part, doesn't seem to connect things in the heat of battle."

Rei's lips twitched, a sarcastic comment on her lips ready to fly, but she held it down. If he was deciding to be helpful, she couldn't ruin the moment just yet. "Good. Do you have anything on Kirishima?"

"Not on par with that class rep, but he's strong."

The two of them came to stand before the building, separated from the group entirely and well out of earshot. It was the perfect time to come up with a plan as they stood on their own. Even if they couldn't go inside and set up yet, there was no harm in trying to construct a plan of attack as best as possible before the round began. It was only fair; it wasn't like they had a distinct advantage over any other group at this point, the others able to begin their scheming as well. Rei lifted a hand to her chin, pondering the dynamics of the other team. "They seem like they can work together well enough, but their quirks aren't very suited for each other." She paused, an amusing thought forming. "Well, unless they decided to use Kirishima as a battering ram. That wouldn't be good for me."

"Hurry up and come up with an idea."

Rei scowled. "Then hurry up and help me. We're a team, not two solos right now."

"As much as I wish."

"Wish all you want-" Rei halted mid sentence, golden eyes widening as an idea struck her. Hearing his partner stop suddenly, Bakugou turned his full attention to the smaller girl, physically angling himself in order to look at her properly. With a small grin, Rei looked up into Bakugou's face, excitement beginning to spread. "I've got it."

"Hurry up with it then." Much to her surprise, he seemed rather interested in what she had to say, but her excitement at her idea had her hurrying along, not thinking much of it.

"We need to stick together."

"Huh?"

"Think about it; they'll think that you're out to pick a fight. They'll try to avoid you and come for the civilians and me."

Raising an eyebrow, Bakugou looked rather unimpressed. "Is that all you've got? Thought you were better than that."

"I didn't say where the civilians and I had to be though." Now that she had his attention, she grinned, golden eyes glittering in the light. This was all too familiar, a similar situation to what she had faced with Jirou and Kaminari. Victory was so close, she could taste it on her lips. She watched as Bakugou's interest grew, piqued just slightly but slowly snowballing down the hill. "So here's what we're going to do…"

* * *

"_Team D versus Team C! Match start!" _

"_This is absurd."_

Rei gritted her teeth, voice strained as she tried not to verbally abuse her partner. "Shhh." She could hear his grumbling coming through their shared communications link, but after a moment he settled back down, silence and a small static the only constant in her ear. As much as he wanted to say something snarky back at her, he knew that he had to comply with her plan in every sense if they wanted to increase their chances of winning. Everything had been planned up and down, and as much as Bakugou had initially grumbled, he eventually saw that her plan at least had a much higher chance of success compared to his completely shambled one, if it was even possible to call his declaration a plan at all. If there was one thing that the two of them had in common, it was their competitive streak and determination to win.

Perhaps that was the only thing keeping them together and away from trying to shred one another's throats. Heavens knew that Rei could be sarcastic, quick witted, and eager to taunt when she wanted to. Such actions could only be the tinder for the flame, the gas for the spark that was Bakugou's explosive personality. Literally. He had initially thrown a fit when she had explained to him that she wanted him to hide in a small room on the eleventh level where they were currently located until their enemies came in, but after a bit of bickering and bartering they had finally come to an agreement.

Now they just had to see if their opponents would take the bait.

The building they occupied was much higher than the rest of the other buildings in the area, and the architecture and layout matched the ostentatious vibes. The entire eleventh floor consisted of an open air space, a solarium with windows around the entire floor providing sight lines to the entirety of Ground Beta. But while the walls were bare and there were no items that would indicate any signs of habituation inside the space, there were plenty of raw materials and other things being stored in the room; concrete bags, cement mixers, and other construction items were scattered around the space in neat piles, though a grid like setup was completely absent. It was more of somewhat organized piles that had been somewhat unceremoniously dumped into the space for U.A. to use for repairs when buildings were destroyed in trainings, following a logic that Rei didn't care to identify. It was tangential to the plan and the mission anyway. There were more important things to do.

Rei would have chosen the eleventh floor in any case for a standoff; the height would ensure that their opponents would have to waste time ascending through the building and taking the stairs. And while Iida could easily speedrun his way through the entirety of the space, he would most likely be sticking with Kirishima. Bakugou in the last match had proven his proclivity to go hunting for battles on his own, and a solo match against the explosive quirk wielder would prove dangerous and potentially fatal. No, Iida would stay with Kirishima in order to tag team in case Bakugou found them. Even with a powerful quirk like his, Bakugou would be at a severe disadvantage against the two of them.

Or so they would think. Little did they know that Rei had managed to convince her partner to stay with her, though they didn't need to know how much she had suffered to finally sway him. But it would most likely pay off in dividends; they would be anxious and cautious proceeding through the building, wasting even more time in the end. Iida would be weighed down by Kirishima unknowingly.

Time. That was what Rei had chosen to articulate. It was frowned upon to beat their opponents into submission, so she needed to think of an alternative that still allowed Bakugou to let loose. If they couldn't win a decisive battle, then they needed to play to the time frame set on the exercise. By shaving the minutes off step by step, Rei was confident that they would be able to secure a victory against their opponents.

Her hands clenched in determination and frustration as she sat high on a pallet of cement bags that were piled nearly twenty feet into the air, not far from the entrance to the room. It was just her luck that in the first week of school, she would face off against the two people that she had deemed the most annoying to her in their class. She had solidly defeated Yaoyorozu on the first day of class, delivering a figurative blow that had the rich girl reeling and doubting herself. The taste of that victory had been sweet, and Rei hungered for more. First the vice class president, and now the head boy himself; what could be better than winning a victory over that uptight, borderline arrogant, rich kid himself? She wasn't going to lie; this was a bit personal. Maybe she would accidentally kick his head a bit harder than anticipated and say she got caught up in the moment. Realistically, that was an entire possibility, planned or not.

Clearing her thoughts, she breathed in deeply. It was time to focus, not to be thinking about whimsical and tangential things to their present problem. Bakugou would absolutely kill her if she messed things up on her end. So instead she started counting, getting a mental clock going of how much time they had.

Nearly five minutes had passed before she heard footsteps approaching on the landing outside the door to the solarium. They paused for a moment outside, taking their time before slowly opening the door. Rei wanted to grin maniacally about how well things were going and how well she had predicted them, but she forced it away. She couldn't give things away from the get go. Patience and composure were key tactics here.

Sure enough, two heads peered around the door, their eyes quickly finding Rei as they stepped into the room, Iida a bit more confidently as Kirishima's eyes continued to wander around. It was clear that the latter hadn't forgotten about Bakugou's missing status, but Iida only puffed up his chest, addressing Rei dramatically with a finger point and a stupid grin on his face. "We have found you, villain! We are here to rescue the civilians you have captured!"

This time she couldn't help but react, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Can you find them in here?"

"Oi, Iida-"

Golden eyes flashing dangerously, Rei wasted no time. Surging forward and pushing off quickly from her position, she dove toward the two, positioning herself so that Kirishima was in the middle of the three. The red haired boy instinctively activated his quirk, raising his hardened arms in front of him to defend, but Rei instead aimed for his legs and swept them out from underneath him, sending him into the ground. He hit the ground with a groan, but Rei was already moving before he could. To his fortune, Kirishima was no longer her target, and Rei rounded on Iida.

The class rep was ready by this point, leaping into the air and aiming a kick toward Rei's head. Dropping to the ground she managed to avoid his attack, narrowly rolling out of the way to avoid a second blow that smashed into the ground where she had landed. Putting a bit of space in between them and jumping back onto another pallet of construction materials, she grinned. "Are you sure you should be fighting me?"

Her statement caught their attention, and they paused for a moment. "Huh?" Their expressions dumbfounded, she tried not to laugh. So they hadn't caught on yet. She and Bakugou had the upper hand for now. If only they could sustain their progress, then surely victory was in their hands.

"As of right now, you've wasted almost half of your time bank trying to find us. Your objective is to rescue those civilians, isn't it? Better hurry, heroes," she taunted, voice turning a bit sing song in nature and effectively creeping out her opponents. She could see it on their faces; they were slightly horrified at the turn of events, and the panic was beginning to show.

"Man," Kirishima groaned, hardening his arms again and preparing for a fight, "Just when I thought I got a read on Akatsuki, she goes all sadistic on us. That's creepy as hell, man!"

"Are you going to fight, or are you going to try and claim your objective? Make a decision quick, because I've made mine." Launching off again, Rei clashed with Kirishima. Instead of moving to punch him, she moved to push him away using her momentum, effectively putting a bigger gap between him and his partner. Going on the offensive she began matching him blow for blow, using her legs and dexterity to her advantage. It was less powerful than she wanted, but effective enough in tying him up.

"Kirishima!" Iida called after his partner, concern in his voice. He was unable to move, Rei's fighting pattern too erratic to easily identify and making him risk dealing a blow to his own partner.

But Kirishima grunted, shouting back to his comrade. "Go! Find the civilians! I've got this!"

It was clear that Iida didn't want to leave Kirishima, but Rei had reminded the two of them of their purpose; they had to rescue the civilians before time ran out, otherwise they faced failure during the test. Clenching his fists he finally nodded, making his decision and running off through the maze of the top floor, disappearing around the corner and out of sight.

Finally alone, Rei backed off a bit, facing Kirishima with the grin still plastered on her face. She watched as her opponent shuddered, still holding his arms up in front of him defensively. "Man, that's so creepy, Akatsuki! Girls shouldn't look like that."

"I'd find that offensive," she bantered with him, more than willing to run down the time bank even further, "but I really don't care. I'm here to fight you, and if you have a problem with that, then you can turn tails and leave. Otherwise," she flexed her hands, nails coming out of her hands a bit further and sharpening to dangerous points, "man up and fight me."

He shuddered at the sight of her claws glittering in the light, but then a wicked grin spread across his face as he matched Rei, readying his own quirk. "Akatsuki, you're pretty manly, you know? So cool…"

Snorting, she dropped into an offensive stance. "Stop talking, start defending." Launching at him again, she continued to distract and harass him as much as she could. Frankly, with Kirishima's hardening ability, it was rather pitiful. It felt more like a mouse that was trying to bat away at a cat, though it wasn't to say that this mouse wasn't without tricks. But it was also rather annoying; wasn't she supposed to be the cat, not just figuratively but literally? Even with her claws out she wasn't doing a terrible lot, or at least that was what it seemed like. Her nails could cut through metal, but even as she was able to scratch clear lines and divots into his arms they would eventually regenerate and smooth over as much as possible. It was a little impossible to tell since they weren't really smooth in the first place, and they were moving too quickly with sparks flying in between them.

But she wasn't really here to win a decisive fight. That wasn't her role to play. Barely a minute into their fight an explosion rang out, and the two separated for a moment. Kirishima's face looked slightly pale, concern on his features. "Iida!" He called for his partner through his comms, worry only deepening as he listened to whatever Iida could muster out across the lines.

Rei grinned again. "I hope you didn't forget that I'm not alone."

Flabbergasted, Kirishima's mouth parted open like a fish, gaping as his attention was pulled in a multitude of ways. "What…"

"Don't let it distract you!" Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Rei launched forward at her opponent again. He lifted his arms up to block, but so distracted by the other party he failed to notice that her trajectory wasn't set to meet him dead on. Flying right past him, she swiped at his face, grazing his cheek as he shouted more in surprise than pain. It hadn't been a deep cut, she had been sure of that, but it was enough to make him realize that she was a real threat still. The playfulness was gone from her face and her eyes, but the game had truly begun. "Focus down, Kirishima."

Still shocked, he could only mutter partial sentences. "How…"

"Does it matter? What are you going to do now, hero?"

* * *

"_Huh? You seriously think they're gonna fall for that?"_

_Rei rolled her eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time. Jogging up the stairs, they made their way to the eleventh floor where the mannequins were waiting. "Just because you can see through it doesn't mean they won't. Panic will set in, and if what you've told me about Iida is true, then he won't see it until it's over. Neither with Kirishima." _

"_Why are you gonna start as the bait, huh? Shouldn't you be the one hiding?"_

_It was something Rei had considered. Out of the two of them, it logically made sense that she would be the one to hide in a closet or air vent until the right moment, popping out when the timing was right. She was smaller and more stealthy of the two of them; especially considering how bulky Bakugou was in terms of his costume alone, he should have been the distraction. _

_But Rei only shook her head. "They'll think you're somewhere out in the building. If we can delay that tension and reveal a little longer, it'll make them panic even more in the end, knowing that they've been completely predicted." Arriving on the top floor, Bakugou swung the door open and walked through first, Rei following in just as quickly. A smile broke out onto her face as she surveyed the room, taking in all the organized junk and massive piles spread out about the space. "Perfect." _

"_Huh? What now?" _

_She motioned about the space. "It's essentially closed quarters, or very limited. Iida won't be able to maneuver as easily, but you will." Closing the door behind them, she made their way to the pile of mannequins, white floppy dolls that were perfectly creepy and blank as they lay on the floor. "That's why you'll take Iida." _

_Bakugou grunted, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't it be the other way around?"_

"_Like I said, it'll throw them off. I can take Kirishima long enough. Just remember that this is a game of distraction to get them to burn down the clock. Don't destroy the building, but let loose enough to make them panic." _

"_Don't fucking tell me what to do, cat eyes." _

"_It's my plan. You'll listen if you want to win."_

"_Hmph." No matter how much he continued to complain, it was clear that he at least had half an ear open to what she said. Picking up two of the dolls and slinging one over her shoulder, she grimaced as the limbs continued to drag on the floor. She was still much too short to comfortably carry the mannequin citizens, but she simply shifted them into as good a position as she could get before moving along._

"_Look, as soon as Iida comes your way, I don't care what you wanna do. Let loose. Just don't bring the building down on us." _

"_Hah! You think I'm stupid?"_

_Turning her back toward him, she hid her face as her lips quirked upwards for just a moment, hiding her amusement from him. "Sometimes I wonder," she dryly replied, but she immediately shifted gears before he could respond. "Hide those other three dolls in various places. I'll try and put one in another room or in an air vent just in case they figure us out."_

"_Hey." Bakugou's voice was strangely calm and level, and Rei turned backward in curiosity. His face was strangely placid, confident yet not cocky like she always saw him. Voice a bit softer, it was amplified by the microphone in her ear, surprising her with the subtly soft quality. "Believe in your damn plan. If you doubt your own plan, how the hell are others supposed to follow?"_

_Surprise flooded her face. She couldn't help it this time, so shocked by his own bizarre way of giving encouragement that she froze for a moment, brain processing what he had said. Eventually she simply shrugged her shoulders, adjusting the doll over her back and her grip on the one in her right hand. "Of course I believe. How else would I be standing here?"_

_All she received was a crooked, haughty smile. "You're not terrible, cat eyes."_

"_Whatever." She wasn't about to correct him any time soon, so shocked over his moment of softness that she couldn't find any witty comeback. His terrible nicknames would have to do for now, until she could berate him later and beat some sense into him. "Meet back here as soon as you're done. We don't have much time left." _

_The final pieces were falling into position. The two of them would delay Iida and Kirishima's approach, running the clock down based on how cautiously they would enter and push through the building. Rei was certain that they would be wary of Bakugou trying to make a solo play, based on his actions from the last exercise. That cautiousness would only end up biting them in the rear in the end._

_Normal hostage situations had the hostages groups up in a singular location. It was smarter that way in reality; it allowed for the villians to keep a constant watch over their bargaining chips, isolating them from the rest of the world. Rei knew that All Might wanted that to be their tactic, but the hostages were unable to move from their placements or call for help, and she wanted to win. She and Bakugou both wanted to win more than anything else. She was certain that was the only piece between them that let them work together. So she used all variables to her advantage; if they were playing the time game, then it made sense to hide the hostages all around the space, making the heroes play a game of hide and seek while being hunted down and watching their tails at the same time. It was a bit of a cheap move, but All Might hadn't said that their decision was against the rules. _

_This was a class exercise, and one that Rei wanted to win. If All Might had wanted her to fight and prepare more realistically, then he would have set up more boundaries. If she thought about it, this was a bit similar to how Uraraka had used her final attack in the first exercise, moving based on the fact that the bomb wasn't real. It was cheap, but Rei wasn't above fighting dirty. That was how she had risen anyway. The real world didn't have rules in reality, and the winners had to fight tooth and nail to get there._

_Rei knew that, of the two, Iida would be the better pick to find the hostages, even in limited quarters. At the end of the day, he was still faster than Kirishima, and if it came down to the two of them, they would certainly send the class rep to finish the job. Frankly it was better this way; Bakugou had pointed out that he would have been a better pairing with Kirishima based on their quirks, and in almost any other situation Rei would have agreed. Bakugou would most certainly defeat Kirishima in a one on one battle. But their end game wasn't to defeat their opponents; this was the battle of time and wearing down the clock. Rei could handle Kirishima and keep him distracted. Whoever fought Iida would need the maneuverability and high energy to counter the boy's speed in these quarters, and Rei certainly couldn't keep up in this situation. Perhaps she could defeat him otherwise, but again, time was the core component._

_Of course, this plan relied on the assumption that neither of their opponents would catch on to their plan quick enough to do anything about it. If they did realize their flaw, then hopefully by that point Rei and Bakugou would already be distracting them and cornering them, preventing them from even finding the mock civilians. But this plan was still a risk; if neither fell for it from the moment they entered the doors, then the heroes would most likely win._

_It was a gamble Rei was willing to take. No plans came without risks, and Rei was confident that this was their best bet for success. Finding a small restroom area on the level, she darted in quickly and hid one of the dolls in a stall, returning to the large room to find the final hiding place for her other mannequin. If their opponents were panicked, they most likely wouldn't even think about that small room or going through any doors. Especially if either Bakugou or her were in pursuit, they wouldn't want to isolate themselves in closed quarters. Well, Kirishima might since he was a close combat fighter, but Rei was able to play that game as well. It was worth it, and after securing that mannequin she returned to the main room, looking for one final location. She ended up deciding on hiding it in the midst of a pallet of metal beams, lying it down so that it would only be seen if someone was looking closely. _

"_One minute warning! Villains have one more minute to continue preparations before the hero team infiltrates!" _

_The communication line crackled to life, All Might's voice ringing through. Rei blinked, looking around for her partner. "Bakugou, I'm finished. Where are you?" _

"_Hiding, idiot. Like you said." Rei heard something crash in the background, followed by an explicative. "Fuck!" _

"_Language," she chided in a bemused fashion, a smile on her lips. "Where are you?" _

"_Southeastern corner. Storage closet. Shit!" Another crash in the background. _

_Rei shook her head amusedly, running through the expanse in order to position herself before the hero team entered. Finding a high pallet of cement packages stacked fairly close to the entrance, she scaled it quickly, careful to not damage the packages in her ascent. Once on the top she looked around toward Bakugou's location, satisfied to see that it wasn't far away from her position. "I'll try to make sure that Iida heads your direction as quickly as possible. If he doesn't get to you within thirty seconds, make a break for it. We can't let him wander and find the mannequins for long." _

"_Don't tell me what to do, cat eyes." _

"_Follow the plan. It could be worse." _

"_Hah! Just do your job, and I'll do mine."_

"_I was about to say the same." _

* * *

"_Time's up! Villain team wins!"_

"What?!" Kirishima groaned, quirk deactivating as he raised his hands to his head. "No way!"

Falling out of her offensive stance, Rei backed up a few feet from her opponent and retracted her claws back into their normal state, running her fingers over the tips to ensure their smoothness had returned. Rolling her shoulders and standing up straight, she faced off against Kirishima. It appeared as though he was pulling himself back together after the disappointment, facing Rei with a grin on his face. "Man, that was a good fight though! I'm impressed by you, Akatsuki. You're really manly, you know?"

Eyebrow quirking up in amusement and questioning, Rei stared at him for a moment, slightly incredulous. "Manly?"

He seemed to realize his mistake, waving his hands in front of him defensively as he stammered, a bit caught off guard. "I mean, not that it's bad to be a woman or anything at all! You're just cool, you know?" Flashing a thumbs up, he grinned a toothy smile. "I look forward to fighting you again!"

"Right…" Rei blinked, a little confused at the turn of events. She had determined that Kirishima was a little strange, but not unlikeable. If anything he was rather good natured and fiery in his own way, and she found a shred of her heart warming up to him. Just a little. Shoving her hands into her jacket pockets, she tilted her head. "Same here, I guess."

"Oi! Cat eyes!"

Heaving a sigh through her nose, Rei turned to face her partner blankly, watching as he stormed in her direction all too quickly, arms pumping by his sides. She could see Iida following him a bit hesitantly, glasses flashing in the light. But there was no time to think, as Bakugou quickly crossed the remaining space and grabbed the fabric of her jacket, pulling her in closer to him as he leered down angrily. She stumbled for a step at the sudden jolt, but sneered up at him regardless, unwilling to back down. "What now?"

"What now?" Temper flaring, he was practically yelling down at his partner, Kirishima and Iida only watching in horror. "Class rep over here almost got all the mannequins! We almost lost, thanks to you!"

She rolled her eyes before focusing sharply on Iida, peering around Bakugou to look at the suddenly tentative looking class rep. He flinched under her sudden gaze, golden eyes bearing down on him. Up on him? She was too short to be looking down on him technically, but under the weight of her gaze anyone could feel small. "Class rep." He jumped at the call, but Rei continued speaking as though she didn't notice. "Which mannequins did you find?"

"There were four I found in this room, but I couldn't find the last."

Nodding once, she stared back into Bakugou's eyes, not even flinching at his anger. "You should be thanking me that I hid the last one in a different room. I can't be blamed that he found all of yours."

"Other room?"

"Wait a second…"

Bakugou's look turned even darker for a moment as his jaw clenched, red eyes thirsting for blood. But Rei only stared back, matching his gaze and refusing to back down. They both knew that she had planned for this, and without Rei bringing it up, they both knew that she had ended up saving their asses. The one mannequin she had planted in the faux bathroom on the eleventh floor was still in hiding, the one Iida hadn't found. For a moment neither refused to back down, staring into one another as the tension was pulled taut like a string. Everyone held their breath, waiting for someone to make a move.

In the end, it was Bakugou who scoffed, dropping his grip from Rei's jacket and moving away a few feet, looking away in irritation. Smoothing out her costume and rolling her shoulders back, Rei turned back toward the door. "Let's go. We should debrief with All Might so the next group can start."

Taking the lead, she strode out the door and down the stairs, not waiting for the rest of the group. She couldn't help it; her temper had begun flaring after Bakugou had accused her of throwing their test. So quick to place the blame on others, yet slow to realize his own mistakes. She would certain concede that, if she had told Bakugou to wait for less time before emerging, they probably would have more mannequins on their side than the heroes. But part of her was petty, wanting to place the blame on him instead of herself. He should have thought faster, moved quicker, acted more independently.

Perhaps she had been right in the first place; Bakugou wasn't about to listen to her plans any longer. For all they had managed to accomplish in the last twenty minutes, it didn't look like it would happen ever again. She could sense that the other three boys were following her at a distance, could feel the anger and irritation rolling off her partner in waves as he stalked behind her. Heaving a sigh of disappointment, she lifted her hands to her temples, massaging her head as she tried to relax. She had done her part, and they had won.

So why was Bakugou's irritation weighing down on her?

She shouldn't have cared. In fact, she was certain that if it were any other person, she couldn't have cared any less about their anger and irritation. She should have ignored them, walking her own path and not giving them the honor of taking up her own time and space and worry in her mind. But there was something about Bakugou that made her want to make witty quips back at him, that wanted to stoke the fire and prod him until he snapped back. Once she had made it into U.A., she had made a promise to herself that she would stand at the back of the class and keep her head down, simply moving along toward her goal of becoming a hero without causing any trouble. She wouldn't pick fights or pop off at anyone who dared look at her funny or threaten her. But Bakugou was pushing that promise rather well, and Rei was finding that she was reverting to her regular self.

Was that such a bad thing? Yes. Yes, it was. It was a bad thing to be a vindictive and retribution seeking hero. Those traits were rather villainous, and it brought back memories of elementary and middle school, when her peers mocked her about being set on the path to becoming a villain. It wasn't as though she looked like a hero either; with angular features, a dark sense of humor, and a penchant for getting into trouble, she looked every part of the outcast and worker of the underworld. Her acceptance into U.A. had shocked everyone in her school, particularly her teachers, who hadn't thought anything of her before that point. It seemed as though everyone had thought that she was destined for a darker path, a life stained with strife and struggle in the underbelly of society.

Rei's fists clenched at those thoughts. No, she couldn't think such things now. She was here, on the path to becoming a hero. She would prove everyone wrong. She would start here by creating a new identity for herself. No longer was she the one who sought trouble, but the one who would end it. Even if Bakugou pushed her buttons, she couldn't revert to her former self that lusted for blood and battle. That wasn't very heroic.

She had to get a hold of herself. Breathing in deeply, she tried to shake off the negative emotions on the walk back. It seemed to take forever to get to the room where the rest of the class was waiting, and none of it made her feel better. There was still a ball of jadedness sitting in her chest as the four first contenders walked into the monitor room, staring back at the class in front of them and their teacher.

"Right! Well done, all of you. Our MVP today is…" All Might trailed off dramatically before pointing his finger with a flourish, a massive grin on his face. Everyone started in surprise, including the person at whom their teacher was pointing.

But none more surprised than Rei herself.

"Bakugou?"

"Huh?"

The entire class dissolved into muttering and confusion for a moment before All Might raised a hand to silence everyone. "Now then, can anyone tell me why?"

This time, no one raised their hand. Even Yaoyorozu, who always had an answer to everything, seemed to be contemplating the turn of events. It seemed as though she had an answer in mind, but was averse to stating her opinion and decision in front of everyone else. Surely it was a wise decision, if Bakugou was involved. No one really knew what was going to set him off, compliment or not.

When no one ventured an answer, All Might continued. "Teamwork. Of course it's important to defend your objective, but the outcome can be heavily determined by who works well together. Young Bakugou listened to young Akatsuki's plan, and the two were able to succeed."

Everyone seemed to accept his answer willingly, talking amongst one another about how much sense their teacher made while praising his intellect. Even Bakugou seemed to swell up just a bit at the praise, though his face was still etched into its permanent scowl. Everyone in the room conceded to All Might's declaration, and as he began shouting out orders and instructions for the next group to prepare, the conversation moved along and ended.

All but one seemed to transition.

Rei seethed. Bakugou as the MVP, all because he had listened to Rei's planning? What about the fact that she had created the plan all on her own, the fact that it was her quick thinking to hide the mannequin in a separate room that had saved their asses and won them the match in the end? What about the fact that she had somehow managed to convince his stubborn ass of her plan, had outwitted both their opponents? Just what had Bakugou done to outshine her?

Suddenly, it hit her. All Might's strange look on his face when the two of them had been paired, the way that he watched them walk away with a knowing look. The fact that he had undoubtedly been listening to them through their communication channel, even if he hadn't said anything. She had a strange inkling earlier that something was amiss, and now the cat was out of the bag. The entire situation had been arranged so that All Might could test Bakugou again and see if he was at all capable of playing along and listening to directions. After the disaster that was the first day's class where he and Midoriya had both destroyed the building and the latter boy, it was a test of Bakugou's will and ability to follow along. It was a set up. Rei was just a pawn.

Now that the attention had been taken off of their group and the rest of the class chattered away amiably while they waited for the next group to take the stage, Rei could stand at the back of the class and stew on her own. No one seemed to notice her, or at least left her to her own devices. Arms folded over her chest, a scowl settled onto her face. What was she, a tool for others to use? She was furious that the entire battle situation had revolved around testing Bakugou, that she had been sidelined. The mastermind of the entire situation, moved to the side like a placeholder in order for another to take the stage.

Perhaps there were other pieces at play that she couldn't see. Perhaps All Might had another motivation, or that she was over-analyzing his every move. But the entire experience left a bitter taste in her mouth, and as her eyes landed on a familiar head of ash blonde spiked hair, she couldn't help but scrunch her face in disdain. There was only one thing for certain that she knew after today's class, and that was that her irritation for Bakugou was only growing.

It seemed as though, no matter how much she tried to move away from her old self, the truth seeped from the cracks in her mask. Perhaps she would always carry a bit of this angry, bitterness with her no matter how hard she tried to get rid of it. Old habits would die hard, if ever at all.

* * *

Rei was beginning to wonder if her luck would ever turn up. Even in the first week of school, a trend was beginning to emerge. Most of her time was either spent hyperfocused on the lessons or ignoring the people that annoyed her the most, a list that was slowly growing. Iida notoriously held the top of the list, and thankfully their interactions were limited based on their seating arrangements, what with him sitting on the opposite end of the class. Rei was less fortunate with Yaoyorozu, who sat in front of her and who attempted to pair with Rei at every opportunity. She couldn't quite get a good read on her intentions, but the pretentiousness of her language and airs was enough for Rei to try and avoid the girl. At least Yaoyorozu was preferable over Iida; she understood how loud her voice was, and at least had enough dignity to operate like a normal human being.

But even Rei had to admit that Yaoyorozu took only third place on her list, no matter how much she felt annoyed by the rich girl. The honor of second place belonged to a familiar explosive personality, particularly after their hero basic training test together. Rei had taken to ignoring him completely, something that he didn't seem to care about. At least it was easy enough to avoid him, especially when the feeling was mutual. That was what Rei assumed, at least.

Eventually, Rei's luck started to take a turn for the better.

"Disasters, shipwrecks, and everything in between. It's rescue training."

The entire class perked up at the change of pace even as Aizawa's voice uttered the words in a monotone fashion, murmurs passing through the group. Rei sat up straight from her slouched position, alert and attentive at the announcement. This was it; this was what she was here for. Although, now that she thought about it, this sounded like it was more focused on natural disasters. Still, it was closest thing to what was up Rei's alley, and it was more interesting than the battle testing against one another. While she was excited to fight the others in the class, she knew that she had another three years of doing so. It was refreshing to shake it up, even so early in the school year.

"Oi, I'm not done yet." Quieting the class down, Aizawa continued. "You can decide if you want to wear your costume or not. I'm sure there are some costumes that limit what you can do."

Rei contemplated the idea. Should she wear her uniform? The answer seemed to be undoubtedly "yes." But what was Aizawa-sensei saying about some costumes limiting their abilities? Rei didn't think that was the case-

Ah. Rei peeked a glance down the line of her row, looking at a tuft of blonde hair in her row. Many of them had uniforms that would technically be fine, but if it came to rescuing people, there was definitely at least one person whose uniform would only get in the way.

Maybe if he wasn't so focused on offensive capabilities, they wouldn't slow him down for this one.

It was enough to make Rei smirk behind her hand.

"The training will take place off-campus, so we're taking a bus." Apparently done with everything he had to say, Aizawa began walking away. "That's all. Get ready."

Most everyone headed to the front of the classroom in unison, grabbing their uniforms from the shelves and leaving to change. Only a few people remained in their desks for a bit longer, uninterested in mixing with the heavy traffic at the front of the class. Rei held back for a few moments, waiting for the crowd to thin. No point in rushing ahead and pushing through crowds. Just thinking about being crammed in on all sides by a bunch of people sent shivers down her spine, a reminder of a few days prior as all students tried to rush through the hallways in an unorganized manner. Fortunately she had found a high ledge above one of the doors, jumping up and settling onto the thin ledge as she watched people stream through underneath her, oblivious to the girl hiding in the high back corner. Rei hated being pushed around by others in small spaces. It made her freak out a little bit, being crushed like that.

After a few seconds of waiting for most of the class to grab their uniforms, Rei stood from her desk and strode forward, moving at a casual pace. Right as she began to pass Midoriya, the boys stood up suddenly, knocking into Rei and pushing her toward the window.

The boy immediately began to panic, eyes wide as he began waving his hands frantically, gesturing randomly and emphatically. "A-ah! So sorry, Akatsuki-san! I wasn't looking where I was going-"

Rei blinked, staring at Midoriya for a second before shrugging. "It's fine."

Surprise filled his face for a moment before he calmed down, chuckling nervously. "R-right… sorry."

Sending a quick glance to the front of the room, she noted that there were still quite a few people getting their uniforms, the space somewhat crowded. There was no way she could easily get to her case without dodging and weaving through people, so she turned her glance back toward Midoriya. The boy flinched instinctively, causing Rei to raise an eyebrow.

"Why are you so flinchy?"

"Flinchy?" He panicked for a moment before becoming somewhat sheepish, tossing a glance around the classroom before speaking in a hushed tone. "Sorry. You just remind me of Kacchan sometimes…"

It was Rei's turn to look in confusion. "Kacchan…?" Her mind contemplated the name, a few moments passing before realization dawned on her. Her expression darkened. "Oh. You mean Bakugou."

The boy nodded solemnly, suddenly finding his shoes incredibly interesting. Rei folded her arms across her chest, unable to look at the boy as she spoke. "He's a bit of a prick, isn't he?"

"Eh?" Stuttering, Midoriya shook his hands. "Ah, not really! I guess. Well, Kacchan is really strong. He's… always been like that."

"Hmm." Shrugging her shoulders, Rei sighed apathetically, shaking her arms out. "It's none of my business, so I won't ask. But I hate it when people pick on the weak." She took a step back, increasing the distance between the two as Midoriya looked up in surprise. Golden eyes softened just a bit as she looked at the gentle spirited boy. Even if he had likened her to one of the top people on her priority "to avoid" list, she couldn't bring herself to be annoyed with the boy in front of her. "You're strong too. Learn to keep your chin up."

There was a bit of confusion at Rei's vagueness, but he seemed to get the idea. Nodding his head with a determined look on his face, Midoriya clenched his fists. "R-right!" A pause, as though uncertain of what was about to come out of his mouth. "Sorry for judging you like that. You're kind too, Akatsuki-san"

"Hmph." She wasn't sure about that, but she let it slide. "Don't tell anyone." She answered in a deadpan tone, but there was a hint of dry humor that brought a smile to Midoriya's lips. Walking away to grab her uniform now that most of the classroom was clear, she snatched it swiftly from the rack without breaking her pace, striding out of the classroom with confidence. The conversation left a feeling of dread in her stomach; just what had Bakugou done to Midoriya in the past?

Bakugou was tough as a nail. It was obvious in the casual way he carried himself, his attitude straddling the line of confidence and cockiness. He matched his quirk well, an explosive personality that was ready to fight at the slightest aggravation, a dog with both bark and bite. Rei had to be honest with herself; for as much as he irritated her at the moment, a small part of her respected that part of him, the way that he dismissed some of their more irritating classmates like Iida. It seemed as though they were similar in nature; both of them could hold their own, and were ready to take on the world at a moment's notice. A scowl came back onto her face. Were they really that much alike? If Midoriya knew Bakugou well, then she supposed that she wasn't one to fight that likening.

But who could hurt such a gentle and sweet person? Her hand grasped the handle on her briefcase tightly, squeezing it in a vice grip. Midoriya, the boy who could do no wrong, at least in the eyes of his classmates, had some serious history with the class' number one attitude problem. Even if most of the details were obscured from her, it was obvious that Midoriya lived with a touch of fear in the shadow of the explosive boy. Bakugou had mentioned that the gentle boy was quirkless; did that have something to do with this?

Shaking her head, she loosened her grip on her costume case. That wasn't her problem to deal with, and she certainly didn't need to dig into her classmates' personal lives and problems. Still, she was curious. But curiosity killed the cat…

Entering the changing room, she dropped all thoughts as she changed into her costume. There would be time for contemplation later. There was work to do.

* * *

"Everyone! Please line up in two lines and prepare to board the bus!"

Rei growled, placing her hands over her ears at the shrill whistle that their class president was freely touting. "Are you serious right now?" So far he was the only one taking the entire situation seriously, most of the class settling to stare at his outrageous gestures and slowly make their way to the bus. Aizawa stood to the side, conversing with the driver, completely ignoring his students.

"Hurry up and move."

Someone bumped into Rei's arm just as she began moving. Throwing a dry stare to her left, gold eyes met red in a lazy fashion. This was the first time they had spoken with one another since their spat in hero basic training, and from what Rei could observe, he didn't give any cares about that. If anything, he seemed to have moved on. Perhaps she could take a page out of his book. Rolling her eyes, she allowed her more sarcastic side to bite out. "I'm moving, smartass. Simmer down."

Bakugou only tossed his head to the side, scoffing as the two of them fell in line together, standing in the line further from the bus. "Huh? Didn't think you could hear me, what with how you're covering your ears so tightly."

Rei merely rolled her eyes in response, refusing to remove her hands so long as the whistle was in their president's mouth. She had to admit; bantering with him was much more satisfying than anything she had experienced recently. Perhaps she was wrong to place him on her "do not talk with" list. "Sensitive hearing," she finally responded. "Our _wonderful_ class president has a knack for getting on my nerves."

He only made a slightly disinterested and annoyed noise, turning to face the front and effectively ending the conversation. Rei was fine with that, seeing as how there was nowhere else to go with small talk, but she smirked at bit with her classmate's response. Obviously, she wasn't the only one who felt that way. That made her perk up even just a bit, a small feeling of camaraderie forming even momentarily between them at a common irritant. Finally Iida began motioning toward the door, yelling at the class to begin boarding, the lines filtering in slowly. Being in the middle of the class, Bakugou and Rei grabbed the last two seat facing forward, a metal bar in front of them that the two of them immediately threw their right legs on. Staring at one another in surprise, Rei blinked once before turning to face the front, unwilling to back down. Uncanny.

Neither said a word as the bus began to move, lapsing into silence as the rest of their classmates around them fell into a chatter. There was still a bit of tension between them, but neither seemed willing to address it, nor did they think it important enough to attack one another and pick each other apart. With the white noise around, Rei leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes and relaxing as much as she could. Who knew what the afternoon's events had in store for them? If they were anything as physically demanding as the rest of the hero training class sessions, she would need every ounce of her energy. Fortunately she had learned from her last mistake on the first day of classes, taking more time at lunch to mentally relax and dissociate before reorganizing her thoughts for the afternoon stretch. Still, a bit of down time was a welcome respite, and everything was going smoothly so far…

"Well, if you're talking about flashy and strong, it's gotta be Todoroki and Bakugou, right?"

Next to her, Bakugou scoffed, looking out the window. Rei opened an eye to look at the group in front of them, eyeing the participants in the conversation with a lazy gaze before closing them again. It wasn't worth it to get into this conversation.

"Bakugou's always mad, so it doesn't seem like he'll be popular though."

Dammit, Asui.

At this Bakugou shot forward, stepping onto the bar in front of them, ready to hurtle forward. It was only possible by invading Rei's space, pushing to the side in her seat, much to her displeasure. Her irritation only grew as her seat partner began yelling aggressively, shaking his hand around and pushing Rei to the side. "What the hell, you wanna fight?!"

The frog quirk user turned back to Midoriya, pointing in the aggravated boy's direction, as though proving a point. "See?"

"We haven't known each other for that long," added Kaminari from the other side of the bus, "so it's amazing that everyone knows that his personality is crap seeped in sewage."

"What's with that vocabulary you bastard?!" Leaning ever further forward over the barrier, Bakugou stretched even further into Rei's personal space in an attempt to get closer to Kaminari. The electric user wore a smug smile on his face, knowing that the person he antagonized wouldn't be getting any closer. Still, Bakugou continued to yell. "I'll kill you, over there!"

"Enough_._"

Bakugou jolted backward as a foot stabbed into his chest, though it wasn't intended to be incredibly forceful. Turning his wrath toward his seat partner, the explosive boy seethed. "What'd you say? I'll make you pay-"

"Sit down and shut your mouth. I'm tired of having you scream in my ear. If you have issues, settle them outside when we get to wherever we're going." Rei was only annoyed that the boy was being so loud and invading her space, but the provocations from their classmates had been funny, she had to admit. But after Iida's screaming whistle before they boarded the bus her ears were screaming for a respite, and all the yelling happening next to her was not making things any better. She had lowered her leg from the barrier, crossing her arms and staring with vague irritation at her seat partner, matching his glare and daring him to disobey.

Most of the people sitting in the front group seemed horrified that Rei had said such a thing; though she was accepted to be the silent, moody presence that was almost invisible at the back of the classroom, no one had expected such outright confrontation from her. The most terrified of all was Midoriya, who gaped at Rei's outright challenge, waiting for the certain explosions to emit from his childhood friend's fists.

But nothing happened. With a click of his tongue Bakugou sat back down in his seat grumpily, turning to face the window. The entire bus stared in surprise, the front of the bus exploding into ill concealed whispers.

Well, they were well concealed for most people. With her quirk, they definitely weren't though.

"Waah, Akatsuki-san is scary too."

"Even Bakugou listens to her?"

"How does she do that?"

"Do you think there's something going on between them?"

Rei's eyes flashed, voice growling as she leaned forward. "I can hear _everything_ you're saying."

Everyone jumped at her sharp voice, silent for a moment before bursting out into their own personal conversations, as though nothing had changed. Leaning back in her chair, Rei closed her eyes again. Couldn't she ever catch a break?

"We're here. Stop messing around."

Damn. Apparently not.

* * *

"Everyone, I have been waiting for you!"

Stepping off the bus, Rei could hardly believe her eyes. The rest of the class could barely contain themselves, Uraraka jumping up and down and pumping her arms in excitement while almost everyone else took a moment to geek out over the pro hero in front of them. Everyone knew Thirteen, the space hero who saved countless people from disasters. Even so, Rei was impressed that U.A. had such connections to such a popular hero. A smile was wide on her face, obscured by her face mask, but her eyes sparkled with joy.

As expected of the number one hero academy.

He gestured for the students to follow. "Come, let's go inside right away." The class unanimously chanted their greeting, bowing at the waist and energetically bouncing after Thirteen. Even some of the more reserved individuals like Tokoyami seemed to be excited at the prospects of working with such a renowned pro hero. The excitement was rolling off of everyone in waves, creating a cycle of energy as the positive emotions were circled around and around between everyone in the class. Parading into the massive domed building in front of them, Rei found herself blown away once again.

There were multiple designated sections, a few open air locations and a couple domed buildings. Were there ever too many buildings? Scratch that, did U.A. seriously have this much money to throw around? Kaminari gawked at the room, scratching his head. "Seriously? This looks like USJ!"

Rei tilted her head in confusion, staring blankly at her classmate. "USJ?"

Uraraka peered at Rei, apparently in awe. "You've never been to Universal Studios Japan?"

Scratching her ear sheepishly, Rei shook her head. "Can't say I have."

"Ehh, really? It's just like this!" Waving her hands and gesturing around animatedly, Uraraka pointed to different spots. "There's a bunch of roller coasters and rides, and it's really fun!"

Thirteen took the lead, spreading his arms wide. "This is a training ground I made with different types of disasters and natural accidents. It's called the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, or USJ for short!"

The class deadpanned, all thinking the same thing simultaneously. Rei sighed. "Well, at least this'll substitute for my lack of pop culture knowledge."

Uraraka turned back to Rei as Aizawa walked toward Thirteen, the two of them discussing something the class could barely hear. Leaving the class on their own for a few moments, they began to talk amongst themselves quietly, continuing conversations and making new ones. Whispering in a somewhat loud voice, Uraraka looked at the stoic girl in surprise. "Akatsuki-san, you've seriously never been to USJ?"

Shaking her head, Rei deadpanned. "Is that a problem?"

"No, no, no!" The bubbly girl raised her hands defensively, reacting quickly with wide eyes. "It just seems like it's up your alley, with all the rides and everything. You seem like a secret adrenaline junky!"

"Adrenaline junky?" The title made her think a bit, hand coming to rest under her chin as she thought about it. "Actually, I do enjoy leaping off of buildings and high ledges. Are there things like that at this USJ?"

"Of course!" Uraraka then slowly blinked, as though registering what the girl had just said. "Wait! You didn't seriously just say-"

"Alright everyone!" Thirteen pulled everyone's attention back, signaling for everyone to quiet down. Puffing her cheeks in frustration, Uraraka reluctantly turned to face the front, leaving a very confused Rei. Had she said something wrong? There was no time to ask about it, however, as Thirteen continued to speak, moving the class along. "I have one thing, no two… maybe three, four… actually, five things…" The class stared blankly as the list continued to increase, dread filling them at the thought of having to sit through another lengthy lecture before getting to the actual training portion.

But the pro hero shook their head, scrapping that idea. "Everyone, I'm certain you're aware of my quirk, Black Hole. I can suck up anything and turn it into dust."

It was Midoriya who interrupted from the front energetically, unable to contain the fanboy side of himself as he jumped it. "It's because of that quirk you're able to save so many people from disasters, right?"

"Yes, but it is a power that can kill easily. Some of you also have quirks like that, am I right?"

The notion was enough to set a solemn tone over the class. The time for joking and playfulness was over, and it was time to focus. Rei's eyes sharpened, focusing while her mind attempting to see where this lecture was going. Thirteen continued. "It doesn't appear to be a problem at a first glance, but please do not forget that there are quirks that can kill with one misstep. With Aizawa-sensei's physical fitness test you were able to test the upper limits of your abilities, and with All Might's person-to-person combat training, I think you were able to get a feel for the danger of using those powers against others."

Ah, so that's where this was going. Rei's hand clenched at her side. She already knew what she could do, which was why she wanted to become a hero. But the possibility of causing harm to someone wasn't what she was concerned with at this point. Would people accept her as a hero, quirk, personality, and all?

Did she have the potential to save someone, even if she had failed before?

"But this class is a fresh start," Thirteen continued. "You will learn to use your quirk to save people's lives." Rei felt his gaze land on her, almost staring into her soul. Could he see the doubt that lingered inside of her, the concerns that held her back? Would he say such things if he knew what she had done? Thirteen's eyes hardened, a promise in them as he spoke directly at Rei. "You do not have powers so you can harm others. I hope you leave here with the understanding that you have powers in order to help others."

With a flourish, he finished his speech. The rest of the class burst into applause and excited cheers, rejuvenated and energized by such an earnest and heartfelt delivery. Rei simply stood on her own, staring off into space as she contemplated his words.

_You have powers in order to help others_. Determination filled Rei's heart. Thirteen was right; what happened in the past was in the past. She was here at U.A. to train hard and become a hero. From here on out, she had to learn from the past and move forward into the future, holding her head up high and looking forward with confidence. There was no place for hesitation or doubt here, not when it could cost lives in the present. The ghosts of the past would have to stay in their place.

A gentle smile this time on her lips, Rei looked forward with renewed confidence. _Thank you, Thirteen._

"Alright." Aizawa moved from the pillar where he had been waiting to the side, taking control once again and calming the class as everyone pulled their focus back. "Then, first off-"

Broken off by a sizzling noise high above, everyone looked around as the lights suddenly went dark. Thankfully the dome had been constructed to allow some natural light to permeate the room, leaving the class most of their visibility. However, it was clear that this was not planned as Thirteen and Aizawa both looked around in confusion. Everyone froze, uncertain of what was happening, until Aizawa began barking orders.

"Everyone, get together and don't move!" Even as the class looked in confusion, startled and unmoving, Aizawa turned to the other pro hero. "Thirteen, protect the students."

"Oi, what's that?"

Kirishima's quiet and concerned exclamation had everyone straining to see what their classmate had seen, the taller students immediately getting a better idea. Rei looked to Todoroki, moving forward to get a bit closer to him. She was much too short to see anything, and she didn't want to risk moving all the way forward, lest Aizawa yell at her for disobeying orders. "Todoroki-san, what's going on?"

The half-ice boy jumped a bit at her sudden closeness, but looked into the distance, eyes squinting to see. "A purple fog, and it looks like some people. It's hard to see at this distance."

"People?" Rei's mind raced. So the lights had suddenly gone out, and then people had appeared in front of them. Was this some kind of test, where they wanted to see how the students would react?

"Don't move!"

The class jumped at Aizawa as he barked orders, slipping his goggles onto his face. Rei's stomach dropped at the action. If their sensei was getting serious…

"Those are villains."

* * *

AN: lol, super long chapter!

It was originally only about 4k words, so I thought I would add a training exercise... little did I know that it would take up another 10,000 o_O

But I'm sure everyone would rather have a chunkier chapter than a thin one! So I'm sorry that most of the upcoming chapters won't be as long as this one. I just thought I'd give everyone a strange April gift.

Please review! I really appreciate it and it helps me get chapters out faster!


	4. USJ

Chapter 4

USJ

* * *

_Life wasn't fair._

_That was a lesson they learned early._

_Rei and Haru were often picked on by the other kids. As they grew older, those kids turned into bullies, for no other reason than because they didn't care for the two rejects. Haru had always been the gentle one, the angelic face that managed to scrape by. It was Rei who turned up the heat, refusing to let anything slide past her. Once Rei discovered that her quirk made her essentially super human, with fast regenerative powers and an overall more fast and powerful body, she set herself up as Haru's bodyguard and their protector, the first line of defense. She wasn't afraid to get dirty, and she wasn't afraid of the consequences. If she didn't fight, who would?_

_No one else would defend them. Even the teachers tended to turn a blind eye to the fights and scuffles that Rei and Haru often found themselves at the center of. The adults could only ever be bothered if, according to Rei, one of the bullies decided to snitch, using their parents to back them up in order to discipline the orphans through administrative power, a way of getting the last laugh. But Rei never saw it that way; she only saw that as a sign that they were too weak to continue, too cowardly to face their problems and own up to the fact that she was better than them._

_It made her angry and spiteful._

_Haru was her only solace and impulse control. Where Rei dealt with the physicality, Haru operated as the brains of the body. She picked the fights that they fought, letting Rei go only when she was certain that the tides were in their favor and the consequences would be minimized. With her quirk she could see the probabilities of winning, the factors that came into play, the likelihoods of outcomes. Haru wasn't a fighter, wasn't athletic, wasn't hardened in the way that her best friend was, but her intellect was unrivaled. She had a sharp eye and an even sharper mind, and that made her just as dangerous. _

_When Rei became enraged beyond control it was Haru who calmed her down. She was the only other person Rei would listen to, aside from Miss Yuuka at the orphanage, but the lone adult wasn't always there to reprimand her and set her straight. If the black haired girl ever became consumed by hate and spite, Haru was the one to bring her back down and set her straight. It was an effective partnership, one that made them even more inseparable. _

_By the time they made it into the fourth grade, most students knew to stay clear of them. The infamous duo was always by themselves, eating lunch, studying, or just shooting the breeze. Only the reckless got tangled up in their business, always ending with the intruders leaving with their tails tucked securely under their behinds. Their isolation from their peers only grew stronger; it was as though they realized that their peers would never accept them, and instead wielded that knowledge like a sword, daring anyone to try and break the barrier that had been set up. As time passed it became impossible to tell how any of this had begun; it just was. _

_But they were also impossible to ignore. With some of the most outstanding traits of their year they couldn't go completely unnoticed, especially by their teachers. It was a delicate balance of encouraging them to stay on the good side while also rejecting who they were as people, a bias that even the adults didn't realize they held. At their core, no one believe that societal rejects could amount to anything. They had no parents, no structure, no potential. But how did the adults equate such powerful quirks with such negative thoughts? _

_It was a dichotomy that no one refused to acknowledge. It was just how it was, the status quo, the norm that no one challenged or thought about, lest their understanding of their world collapsed. Someone else would love the orphans, but not them. They were too busy, too absorbed in their own lives, their own successes, their struggle to make a living and survive. Who had time for another life? Obviously their parents had messed that up, not realizing their inability and ending up sending their child away. Disgraced, dishonored. _

_Lies, all of it._

_The world of adults was a convoluted mess, a series of expectations upheld by society in order to maintain a semblance of order. In reality it corrupted children from the bottom all the way to the top. It was a terrible system, one without compassion, sympathy, or love. _

_They lived in that reality each day, and each day they grappled with the message that they were unworthy of any success. It was a burned that weighed on their shoulders, that unknowingly dragged them down into the waters, drowning them without their knowledge or consent. It was no wonder that most of the older kids abandoned the system and went into the wilds to find meaning, wherever it may have been. If the light constantly burned them, then wouldn't darkness be the solution? _

_Even as Yuuka worked to support these two children, the two she had vowed to save, the system undermined even her. As she worked to keep them afloat, their heads above the water, even she couldn't fully remove the weight that had been tied around their ankle, the cinder block that simultaneously strained to drag them to the ocean floor. With every day that they came home with a new bruise, a new welt, a new cut on their arms, she could only pray that her words would get through to them. They were worth it, and they were loved by someone. _

_Unbeknownst to her, Yuuka's plan was working. It touched their hearts and fastened Rei and Haru to the light, the goodness of the world, the hope that the future belonged to them too. But the fate of the world is that it inevitably smashes anything that remains too good for too long. Time would see them crumble to their knees, and all anyone could do was watch it happen._

* * *

Villains. The very reason why each of them was at U.A., the very people that they vowed to take down for the good of society. None of the students could have been ready for such an encounter with reality so soon. They were in training, only a week deep in their studies, a bubble that promised to train their skills so that they would be prepared when the real deal came at a later point. To see such evil in front of their very eyes, unbridled and raw, was almost more than some of them could take.

Rei was no exception.

But they began to move. They had to, if they were to survive. Broken from their stupor at the scene that was beginning to unfold in front of them, legs began shifting and head began spinning. A delicate balance of logic, instruction, and panic weaved a plan of attack in each person's head, instinct clashing with the role of heroes. Heroes didn't run; they were the vanguard. But neither were they civilians nor heroes.

Yaoyorozu stepped forward toward Thirteen, desperation in her voice. "Sensei, what about the trespasser sensors?"

"We have them, of course," Thirteen began but trailed off, looking back to the ever growing crowd amassing on the ground floor of the arena. Rei shook her head, attempting to pull her focus back. Now wasn't the time to be panicking; how could she be a hero if she froze? Focus: why hadn't the sensors gone off?

It was Todoroki next to her that jumped to the conclusion first. "Did they only appear here, or around the entire school? Either way, if the sensors aren't responding-"

"Then someone has a quirk that can stop them."

The boy turned to look down at Rei, golden eyes clashing to meet gray and cerulean. They had spoken at the same time, much to their surprise. Rei nodded in assent, continuing his line of thought. "The sensors haven't gone off, the power's out, and there's a villain attack at an off site building when a class is scheduled here. It's too much of a coincidence."

The entire class had turned to look at the two, who were only looking at one another as they formed their hypothesis. Slowly, Todoroki nodded his head, a firmness in his eyes. "They're fools, but not completely dumb. This attack was coordinated and well planned by someone."

"All we're missing is an alibi." Rei crossed her arms, lifting a hand to her chin as she looked at the ground. "What could it be?" She half mused to herself, half to her partner. Todoroki dipped his head once, affirming that they were still on the same track.

Throwing a hand to his side, Aizawa began walking toward the staircase, focusing forward at the advancing villains. "Thirteen, begin the evacuation. Try calling the school. It's likely that someone has a quirk that can disrupt communications, if they passed the sensors without triggering anything. Kaminari," he raised his voice, jolting the students with surprise, "you try contacting the school as well."

"Sensei, are you seriously going to fight by yourself?" Midoriya leapt forward with concern. Even Rei was concerned for their teacher, no matter how good he and his quirk were, brows furrowing as she considered the situation. He was certainly trying to prevent a battle occuring with the students, with them still minors and under his protection. But a one versus massive gang situation wasn't good for anyone, no matter how powerful they were. Even a hero such as All Might would be at risk. How could their teacher jump into the fray without any kind of backup? "A full frontal attack is…"

Their teacher shifted his head to the side, looking back at their group out of the corner of his eye. "You can't be a hero with just one trick. Thirteen," he began walking forward, striding with more confidence than Rei had ever seen from their exhausted and beaten looking instructor, "I'm leaving it to you."

As soon as he leapt forward, lunging through the air with incredible speed and accuracy, Thirteen took control. "Everyone, move to the exit!"

Rei wanted to watch their teacher in action, but her feet moved with the rest of the class. This was the real deal, and there was no sense in fighting when she was clearly outclassed by the attackers at this point. She would have to have faith in Aizawa-sensei, that he would be able to hold them off or take them down without help. He had a point when he said that it was impossible to become a hero without a few tricks up their sleeve, but what exactly could he do? Scratch that, what _would_ he do? And what was _she_ going to do herself?

Scowling, she ran with the rest of the class toward the exit. There was nothing they could do now to help in the situation, but perhaps it was for the best. They were clearly still green, only running through a couple battle simulations with one another and completely unprepared for facing an unknown enemy, let alone a group that outnumbered theirs. Rei wanted to sink her nails into something in aggravation, but she focused ahead. For now, she would leave this to the pros.

Suddenly a swirl of purple formed halfway between them and the door, exploding for a moment before taking a bit more shape. Yellow slats for eyes gleamed down at the group, forced to come to a screeching halt now that their exit was barricaded. Rei slid into a defensive stance, twisting her body and sliding into a defensive stance so that she could watch the enemy in front and look behind. Todoroki noticed her move and copied her, the two of them facing one another as their heads swiveled back and forth.

Rei caught his attention, staring him in the eyes. At least she could depend on her classmate to keep pace. They both had been quick to catch on to the elements leading up to this surprise attack, something that Rei appreciated and admired. "I'll take the back, you take the front?"

He nodded once, looking to the purple, hazy enemy in front of them. "Yeah."

Neither changed their stance, but it was easier now that they could cover one direction at a time. Keeping their heads on a swivel was dangerous, leaving small windows that could spell the end for them. Keeping an ear turned forward at the mysterious enemy, she watched the staircase with careful scrutiny, moving her sights along the sides of the walkway just in case someone tried to sneak up on them.

"Nice to meet you. We are the League of Villains. It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves in to U.A. in order than All Might, the symbol of peace, may draw his last breath." His voice was a smooth, baritone, an edge of superiority and elegance lacing his words as he spoke. A shiver went down Rei's spine at his words before they fully hit her, making her look back in surprise. All Might?

"I believe All Might should have been here," he continued, the group a mixture of frozen in fear and completely speechless at the brazen and forward onslaught. "Has there been some kind of change?"

Shifting her position so that she could look both at Todoroki and keep her line of sight open, her eyes flickered between her watch and her peer's face. He seemed as calm and collected as ever, but a closer look at his eyes revealed the gears turning quickly in his head. Finally noticing Rei's occasional glances, the two exchanged a meaningful look, Rei whispering quietly so that no one else could hear them. "The reason for this attack… All Might?"

His eyes narrowed into a glare as he looked forward at the intruder. "So it seems. Keep your guard up."

Muttering under her breath, Rei focused back on the staircase. "Don't have to tell me twice."

With no one giving an answer, the enemy seemed to shrug his shoulders nonchalantly. "Well, that is neither here nor there. This is the part I am to play." Spreading his arms wide, he looked ready to attack, demeanor shifting from casual and inquisitive to reveal his villainous intent. Rei instinctively turned to face forward at hearing his tone change, muscles tensing for the certain attack.

But instead she watched in shock and fear as Bakugou and Kirishima bolted for the enemy, fists at the ready and quirks charged up. With explosive force Bakugou unleashed the charge in his gauntlet, smoke filling their air and violently swirling around from the attack. Rei lifted her arms to her face, attempting to block her eyes from the smoke. At least her face mask would protect her nose and mouth from the worst of the debris and hazy, but her eyes stung slightly at the sulfur and smoke. Closing her eyes for a moment before blinking quickly in an attempt to clear the irritants, she looked around in shock. Had they seriously landed a hit?

The smoke began clearing enough so that she could see ahead of the group. Bakugou and Kirishima stood confidently, completely unharmed. But as their visibility returned the villain returned into their view, purple haze swirling malevolently, as though irritated.

"My, my. That was dangerous."

"Get away you two!"

But Thirteen's cry was too late, Bakugou and Kirishima hesitating enough for the villain to take advantage of their shock. Expanding his body, the villain reared his head. "My job is to scatter you all and torture you to death!"

Purple tendrils shot out from his body, encompassing the entire group in a thick haze that was impenetrable. Raising her hands to protect her face again, Rei winced, closing her eyes as the wind whipped through the area and dried her eyes. It was her feet that began to sink into something, Rei's heart stuttering in fear. Was this what he meant by scattering them? What was going to happen to them?

* * *

Senses on overload, Rei felt as though she was suffocating for what felt like an eternity. This wasn't just any fog, this was something else. It was as though a heavy pressure was bearing down on her, an immense load bearing down on her and pushing her through a swamp that was pulling her legs. Opening her eyes for a moment, she realized that she still couldn't see anything, absolute darkness taking over. Then, she felt her legs emerge into the air, as though her body was being dropped from a cloud made of playdough. The feeling slowly rose up through her body, until suddenly her shoulders and head popped free.

Falling. Where was she falling? Opening her eyes, she realized that she was actually falling through the air, a bunch of dirt and broken buildings below her.

Not to mention, a mass of villains waiting at the bottom.

Reaching into her jacket without hesitation she pulled out a smoke bomb, hucking down below and listening to the enemies reacting in shock. At least her landing would be obscured. The villains would be the least of her problems, as long as none of them had heightened senses like she did. She ended up colliding with someone's head, feet striking an unfortunate soul's skull and sending them into the ground, knocking them completely unconscious. There wasn't even time for them to react, let alone groan. Instead they had collapsed upon themselves like a doll dropped carelessly onto the floor. Rei winced in apology instinctively, but she pulled herself together. These were the villains, the real deal. There was no time for apology, only time to strike quickly before they got the jump on her. In the misty fog of the smoke bomb she closed her eyes, opening the rest of her senses and listening carefully for footsteps and other movements.

There were four villains to her left, who had crowded close to her original landing spot. Darting through the thick haze she delivered a flying kick to one's head, sending them into the ground with a cry and a thud. The other three looked in her direction but refused to move, unaware of what exactly was happening. Weaving between them with ease she snatched a metal pole that one of them carried, whipping it around and clocking the remaining three figures and sending them into the ground. With satisfaction she delivered one final blow to each of their heads, ensuring that they remained unconscious.

"Oi, she's in here somewhere!"

"Come out and fight, you coward!"

"Coward…?" Lunging through the smoke she smashed the metal pole into another villain's head, the one who had taunted her, easily identifying where they had stood based on their outbursts. His friend next to him stiffened, Rei taking advantage of his locked limbs to conk him out as well, sending him into the ground. Huffing a bit and jabbing the pole into one's head, she seethed. "You're a coward for trying to take on a fifteen year old kid, asshole."

The smoke was beginning to dissipate, spreading over the area and losing its thick density and cover. As Rei looked around she could see the dim figures emerging in the smoke, making it easier to see exactly who was coming for her. Giving the metal pole a twirl in her hands and over her wrist, she tucked it under her arm, face in a frown as she thought of a plan.

She had to figure out exactly where she was. That was the first order of business. It was possible to simply wait out the smoke and take out as many enemies as possible, but she would be at a disadvantage, not knowing where she was while the villains most likely already knew the terrain. But if she jumped out of the smoke and revealed her location, the enemy would know where she was, making it more difficult for her once they all ganged up on her. She had the distinct advantage with the first six enemies of catching them off guard with her smoke bomb and disappearing into the mist, relying on her heightened senses to find them first and take them out. Now she would have to be careful.

Damn it, why did this have to happen? They were supposed to be doing rescue training, not waiting for rescue themselves! With a growl, Rei looked around once again, a few more silhouettes to her left cautiously wading through the smoke, most likely looking for her.

Time was running short. An idea popped into her head. What if she jumped up into the air above the smoke bomb to ascertain her location, then go back into the smoke bomb and rely on its cover to get out? There was precious little time now if she wanted to maintain the cover for a little longer. Crouching down quickly she sprang into the air, quickly clearing through the haze and popping up above the ground, looking around.

It looked like she was still in USJ. No, she definitely was, if the fire and water zones were anything to go by in the distance. Looking at all the broken buildings and dirt below her, it was now clear that she was in the landslide zone, on the cusp of the fake town and the mountain where the mud had flown. The villains had surrounded her smoke bomb, about nine of them on the fringes as they looked at it warily, uncertain if they should enter. But one of them happened to look up just as Rei was reaching her peak, sounding the alarm. "Look, up there! That girl's inside the smoke bomb."

Rei's eyes narrowed. Shit. Apparently they at least had general perception about them, though they still weren't the brightest and the best the villains had to offer if the numerous unconscious ones inside the fog were anything to go by. Still, if she remained in the smoke for just a while longer, drawing some of them inside, she could take them all. Readying herself for her descent, she tucked her legs into her body, forming a ball with her lower extremities and torso while her arms reached out to steady herself. Taking in a deep breath, she exhaled slowly. She could do this. Those six inside the smoke bomb were blundering idiots, taken out by her almost in an instant. Only nine more to go.

"Akatsuki, move!"

Twisting to look behind her, Rei's eyes widened as she looked at Todoroki, who had apparently landed slightly further up the mountain. There was a deadly focus in his eyes, a dangerous look as he glared at the enemies below him. It was then that Rei saw the ice shooting out from his foot, realizing his plan in an instant. Twisting around midair she shot a grappling hook out of her left hand, the clamp digging into the mountainside just above where Todoroki stood and yanking her in a new direction. She grunted as she landed on the incline, feet barely tucking underneath her in time to stick her landing. Standing up she retracted the grapple back into her glove, turning to look at the devastation they had wrecked.

The ice glistened even in the mid-low lighting of the arena, frost and haze mixing and blowing away the smoke grenade she had thrown. All the enemies that Rei had encountered were frozen stiff, locked in icy restraints that held them securely in place. She stared for a moment in amazement, the beauty of the sparkling snow captivating even as the villains struggled before her.

"It's pathetic to lose against two children."

Rei looked to her classmate, whose back was turned toward her. Even so she could feel the unrestrained rage that emanated from him, hands clenched at his side. It wasn't from the exertion of his quirk, that much was for sure. Rei knew the feeling, the anger, the bitterness and disappointment of the adult world that lingered just beyond them. "Get ahold of yourselves. Aren't you supposed to be adults?"

It filled her with rage too. But Rei calmly walked toward her classmate, placing a hand on his un-icy shoulder. To her surprise, it was strangely icy, blood chillingly cold. If anything she had expected this side to be at least a bit warmer. But instead it was almost as if she was touching the ice on his left side itself. She paused, unsure of what to say, words temporarily forgotten in her distraction.

But when brown and blue eyes stared at her in surprise, her head cleared. There was no time for distractions; they had to get out of here alive. "Thanks. For the warning."

"It's nothing." The two of them began walking forward, Rei staying off the ice for the moment while Todoroki showed no qualms about slipping. His costume was most likely designed to resist sliding anyway. "Thanks to you, you took their attention off me when I landed."

"Like you said, it's nothing." Rei gave another twirl to the metal pole in her grip, a flourish for the fun of it. It had been a while since she'd had an actual, proper weapon in her hands. "But they're really not the brightest, are they? I was expecting a little more trouble, what with that first villain's threats about tearing us apart."

"Hmph." Todoroki only grunted in assent, looking at the enemies before them. He had been careful enough to leave their heads unobstructed, mostly because it would have meant suffocation and instant death if he hadn't. He wasn't a killer, even if these people were. But Rei was right. "'Scatter us and kill us,' huh? I hate to say this," came to a stop before the group, raising his voice at the enemies, "but you all look like the guys with quirks they didn't know what to do with."

Rei snorted in amusement, jabbing her weapon into the ground. "Couldn't have said it better myself. Aren't you all supposed to be villains? You look like the rejects from my middle school, and even those kids are more talented than you." Rei paused, lowering her voice so that only Todoroki could hear her. "Incoming."

Suddenly from behind them, a battle cry sounded. Rei rolled her eyes, ducking forward and sticking out a leg to trip her assailant. It had been a good idea to wait on the sides until the most opportune moment, but she had heard him coming from a mile away. Her nose wrinkled. And smelled him, for that matter. Man, if she could smell him through her face mask, she didn't want to know how bad the stench was without it on.

Sent flying forward with his weapon outstretched, the icy boy turned sharply on his heel, grabbing the weapon and freezing the enemy from both his hand and the ground. Encrusted with icy shards Todoroki glared at the man's face, the enemy realizing his mistake and shuddering under the withering stare. The high school student snapped the rod in half, sending the enemy face planting into the ground, unable to move and certainly more uncomfortable than before. Rei only stretched out her back, picking the weapon back up again and moving closer to Todoroki. "Now that that's over..."

The boy looked at the closest enemy, a plan formulating in his head. "Oi, at this point, your cells will slowly die. I want to be a hero, so I don't want something so cruel to happen if possible." Lifting his right hand to the villain's face, icy shards swirling around in the air, a haze appearing. Rei watched with interest, crossing her arms over her chest while looking around the area, searching for other assailants. Thus far, it seemed quiet, her senses not even picking up anyone that wasn't already encased in ice.

"On what base do you think you can kill All Might? Tell us your plan."

The man was clearly panicking, stuttering an answer out as best he could. "I-it's that creature! That t-thing they brought with them. They didn't tell us more than that!"

Rei leaned forward into his face, Todoroki moving to the side in surprise. The villain clearly wanted to shrink away from Rei's gaze, feral golden eyes glittering with pupils in dangerous slits. She knew how intimidating she looked with golden eyes on their own, but making them appear a little more feral and cat-like was enough to make even some of the most stalwart people quiver. "That's not good enough. He might have reservations about letting you die a painful death, but I'm not above a good beating if it comes to it." She delicately booped the top of his head with her metal pole, the man whimpering in anticipation. "Tell me things you do know then. Are there any others in this area? How many of you came here?"

"Th-there should b-be more in the city p-p-part as backup! We were split up am-mong all areas. We were just supposed to take out the students!"

"Tell me about that creature. What's so special?"

"I don't know! It's supposed to take down All Might though!"

Rei glowered at him for a long moment before stepping away. "If I find out you lied, I'll come back and kick your ass so hard, you'll be buried in this mountain and no one will find your body."

"It's true! I swear!"

Stepping back, Rei leveled him with one last glare before turning back to her peer. She blinked at his blank face, tilting her head in confusion. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head once, stepping further down the mountain on the ice. "You're surprisingly... persuasive."

She rolled her eyes, carefully following his footsteps down the mountain. "I prefer intimidating or terrifying, but I'll take it."

"Hmph. Remind me to stay on your good side."

"Let's just go get those stragglers and round them up."

"Yeah."

* * *

All Might…

He had to do something.

Midoriya couldn't just stand to the side. All Might was quite literally on death's doorstep, if that creature sucked him into that warp gate. Held in the vice grip of that monster he was trapped, weakening with every second.

He moved with hesitation at first, legs unwilling to carry him forward. But with every step he took his resolve grew, even if his fear only skyrocketed. These villains were too strong, too cunning, too evil. Surely they would destroy him in a heartbeat too. But he couldn't stand by the side, not while his greatest mentor and hero was stuck in a vice grip staring at the face of certain death.

He had to move.

He had to do something.

_All Might, there's so many things I still want you to teach me._

_All Might…_

"All Might!"

Sprinting forward with all his might, Midoriya cried out for his hero, stretching a hand out desperately. Doing something was better than nothing, wasn't it? All Might looked down to see his young student. Midoriya hadn't noticed that the villains were looking at him too.

"How foolish."

In the blink of an eye the warp gate had formed in front of him, blocking Midoriya's route to his mentor. There was no escape. His momentum carrying him much too fast to slow down, green eyes widening as everything happened in slow motion.

He had failed.

Green eyes closed.

He was going to die.

_BOOM_

Body jerking in an entirely new direction, Midoriya was certain that had nearly exploded. But an explosion meant…

Suddenly he crashed into the ground, though something cushioned his fall. A grunt sounded near his ears, causing him to slowly open his eyes in surprise.

"Move, Deku! You're in the way!"

But Midoriya was no longer near the warp gate, where Bakugou was now slamming the metallic container into the ground with a battle cry. Instead Midoriya found himself watching from a few feet away, directly to the side of where he had been. Rolling off whoever had the misfortune of catching him and softening his landing, Midoriya jumped up with a cry of surprise as he realized who it was, joy still on his face. "Akatsuki-san!"

Groaning, Rei sat up from the ground as quickly as possible, still recovering from receiving the brunt of the impact from their landing while sending a glare at Bakugou, completely ignoring Midoriya in favor of biting off the ash blonde's head from a distance. "Idiot! I told you to aim more left!"

"Hah?" Bakugou glanced up briefly, eyes flashing wildly with maniacal excitement. "I told you to stay out of my way!"

Rei simply shook her head, aiming her glove back at All Might. "Whatever," she mumbled, eyes narrowing as she mentally calculated her trajectory. "This fight isn't over yet." Midoriya made a sound and motion to stop her, but she threw herself back into the fray willingly, whipping out a small throwing knife and plunging it into the un-iced hand of the creature. It didn't even cry out, seeming almost motionless and unaffected, but Rei saw its hand twitching in response. At least there was some sort of response, some confirmation that Rei was at least doing something to affect it. Twisting the knife even deeper, she looked to All Might. "Sensei, can you move?"

The symbol of peace only grunted in affirmation, wiggling in the loosened grip and flipping out of the vice hold. Immediately Rei copied his motions, withdrawing the knife and leaping back through the air to stand near Kirishima, soaring through the air in a high arc before landing in a crouch near her classmates. Adrenaline rushed through her veins, her heartbeat thudding loudly in her ears as she surveyed the scene with eyes that flitted around. Truly, fighting the villains earlier had been a little more in her comfort zone. At least they had human faces. Rei couldn't even begin to describe the monstrosity that lay before, a creature that had somehow restrained even All Might himself. Was that even humanly possible? Was this thing even human at all?

"The symbol of peace cannot be killed by the likes of you." Todoroki's monotone voice was betrayed by the stone cold glint in his eyes, a serious and deadly look that impressed even Rei. Dropping into a defensive stance she looked around at her peers, satisfied that Midoriya seemed fine at this point, albeit a tad teary eyed at the sudden rescue.

"We're all accounted for," she murmured to Kirishima. "Just that blue haired guy."

He sighed, clearly disappointed in his apparent failure. "Damn, it was just me that didn't get the pick."

"Don't beat yourself up. We still have the upper hand."

Almost all according to plan.

"_Oi! Todoroki, Akatsuki!" _

_Rei and Todoroki both looked to the jubilant redhead waiving in their direction, walking alongside a stewing Bakugou. Slowing down to a stop, Rei and Todoroki waited for the other two to catch up to their position, Rei raising her eyebrows in question at their appearance and path. Kirishima sighed in relief as they met up, a tenuous smile on his face despite the desperate situation._

"_Good to know you're both okay."_

"_Oi! Let's hurry up and go." _

_Rei looked at Bakugou, whose eyes were trained toward the central plaza. He seemed trained on a warpath, ready to continue moving to another destination. Raising an eyebrow, she looked between the two new additions to their group in surprise. Bakugou wasn't one to have plans, if their last team up was anything to go by. "You have a plan?" Her tone of voice was both surprised yet suspicious, somehow doubting that Bakugou had thought anything through as of yet._

_Kirishima looked a little sheepish. "Well, not really a plan, but-"_

"_The plan's to smash that warp gate bastard and cut off their exit." Bakugou continued to storm off toward the fight, forcing everyone to walk a bit quickly to keep up with him._

_Frowning, Rei stared at the explosive quirk boy. "You're terrible at this. Let's get behind the fountain and look at the situation first." Passive aggressively taking the lead, she started to jog over to the fountain, forcing everyone to follow her. Bakugou growled at being overtaken, catching up to her and complaining in her ear. _

"_What do you think you're doing?"_

"_Quiet, idiot. We both know you're not the planner of this group, so sit down for five seconds while I think." Her answer came out as an aggressive whisper as the group drew closer, indicating that she wasn't about to take any of Bakugou's crap. He desisted with a noise of complaint, clearly annoyed at her point yet not moving to go against her either. The group crouched down next to the fountain, peering over the ledge. Rei's eyes widened. "Shit, not good. All Might's in trouble." _

_The other three boys peered over the ledge to see what Rei was seeing, surprise on all their faces. All Might restrained? It seemed impossible. Bakugou growled, hand threatening to explode, but Rei leveled him with a single look. "Shut up. Otherwise our cover'll be blow."_

_Relaxing his hands, the boy pouted. "Yeah, yeah. Hurry up so I can deck that warp gate bastard." _

_Todoroki pulled up next to Rei, eyes trained ahead as she spoke quietly. "I can take that creature and freeze him." _

_She nodded, looking over to Kirishima. The third boy crushed his hands together as quietly as possible, a grin on his face. "The blue haired boy is mine. Leave him to me!" _

_That left, well, nothing really for Rei. "I'll just work on getting All Might out of that monster's grip. It must be really tough if even All Might can't get out of it."_

"_Can we fucking go already?" _

_Rei hesitated, about to nod when a blur entered her field of vision. Bakugou growled. "Not Deku again…"_

_Standing up from their cover, Rei took command. "I've got Midoriya. Let's go!" With Midoriya, it looked like there would have to be a bit of improvisation, but she would take their impromptu meeting and briefest of plans as a success, considering Bakugou had been about to blast into the fray with nary a bullet point to his list of tasks. As the four burst onto the scene, Rei readied her gauntlet to fire, running in stride with Bakugou for a moment. She briefly glared at him, matching eyes in a fiery gaze. "Aim to the left a little. It's gonna be close." _

_He clicked his tongue in annoyance, readying his fists as they bantered. "Why don't you just stay out of my way?"_

"_Just focus."_

A series of small explosions sounded from Bakugou, the boy hovering creepily over the warp gate with an unnerving grin on his face. "Don't even move!" He barked a laugh, getting even closer into the villain's face, if it could even be called a face. "If I even feel you moving suspiciously, I'll blow you to smithereens!"

"Jeez, his attitude isn't very hero like."

Rei rolled her eyes before focusing back on the blue haired man, the only villain to move freely after their surprise attack. "When has it ever?" She muttered under her breath, mostly to herself, but she heard Kirishima chuckle to himself in amusement at her snarky comment.

"Nomu."

The group tensed as the half bird, half human beast began to pull itself out of the warp gate. Collapsing briefly on the ground, its icy limbs shattered into pieces, the creature flailing around but still alive and seeming to not care about its limbless state. Rei watched in horror as it shrieked, flopping on the ground as it attempted to stand up, a demonic creature from hell itself. Did it even feel any pain? Finally holding itself still, its eyes swirled in its sockets, locking onto All Might unblinkingly.

Midoriya gasped. "It's still moving? Even if its body is broken?" It was what everyone else was thinking, complete shock on Todoroki's face and horror on Rei as she watched the remaining ice shatter and fall from its limbs. No one, especially not the ice user expected this to even be possible. From the severed stubs muscles began expanding at a rapid rate, the innards and skeletal structure of the creature weaving together and materializing before their eyes. This wasn't just the creature moving with a broken body.

"Everyone, get back!" All Might threw an arm out, but the students stood in rapture at the horrifying beast before them. Rei felt her stomach grow sick at the sight, even as its raven black skin began to cover the exposed tissue. This wasn't natural at all. This was something even beyond her wildest nightmares. "What? His quirk wasn't shock absorption."

"I didn't say that was all he had." Even though the blue haired villain's voice was quiet, Rei could hear the chuckling in his undertone, still finding amusement in their horrified expressions. "This is his super regeneration. Nomu has been modified to take you at one hundred percent."

"Modified?" That was disgusting. How in the world did they even manage that? At least now it became clear that this creature was no longer human. It was a test, a modification, an abomination. From what it sounded like, it was as though it had been stuffed with quirks left and right in order to build some sort of monster that could even take on All Might. Was that the only thing that could take on All Might; a monster? Rei's fear of the creature only increased tenfold, watching as it stared in a docile manner back at them. No, it certainly wasn't docile. That thing was-

"Go, Nomu."

No one saw it coming. In the blink of an eye there was a sudden explosion of wind that violently threw them backward, Rei unable to keep to her feet. She cried out as she flew into the air, hands instinctively coming up to her face to block any attacks. But she had never been the target.

She was only on the periphery.

With a splash she was sent into water, the sudden cold shocking her, making her unable to move. She was frozen with surprise, followed by panic and fear. Muscles frozen in cold and anxiety, her mind just as chilled and unable to move, she began to sink.

She hated water.

She couldn't swim.

In an instant she began to panic, limbs thrashing as she attempted to swim toward the surface. She could see the glimmers of light in the distance, high above her head. Strangely enough she could also feel vibrations through the water, jolting her to the core as she struggled to break to the surface. Was the fight continuing? She hoped that she wouldn't be in the way, but her mind was consumed with the desire to survive. Desperation took over.

She released her air.

It was a feeling she had experienced before, the realization that she was out of air followed by a desperate and instinctive gulp that only brought water into her lungs. Choking, suffocation, asphyxiation; none of them could compare to the knowledge that no matter what she did, air was nowhere near her. Her arms and legs began to thrash more randomly, seizing as she slowly began to drown.

Just like before.

The madness was all consuming, all encompassing. In between the blurry bits of what she could see, she saw a figure coming toward her. A silvery outline, long wispy strands of hair floated in the infinite dark, indefinite and foreign as Rei strained to see. A pale face emerged in her view, and it was then that Rei knew she was slowly dying. She could imagine the school uniform, the old and tattered backpack, the slender hands that reached out for her. Half of her mind knew that it was only an illusion, a fever dream that her subconscious produced. Still, to see her here…

Rei's eyes closed, accepting her fate. Finally, after all this time.

_Haru, have you finally come to take me too?_

* * *

_Oi, Akatsuki-san! Can you hear me?_

_Oi, wake up!_

_Rei, wake up._

Rolling onto her side, Rei heaved as much as she could, the water draining out of her system as it poured from her mouth. For nearly a full minute all she could do was lay on her side and cough up all the water she could in between desperate gasps for air. Pain, everywhere.

But she was alive.

By the time she managed to take in a deep breath, all she could feel was disappointment. So, she was back from the brink again, as per usual. It was impossible to even clench a fist in anger, her body so exhausted and heavy from trying to revive itself that all she could do was lay on her side, trying to catch up on getting as much oxygen into her body. Exhaustion. She had been drowning; how long had she been down there?

Visions of blue eyes and pale cheeks flooded in from her memory. Rei was certain she had been close to death. She had seen Haru, of that she was certain.

"Thank god, you're alive!"

Dryly, she unfortunately had to agree with that statement. Opening one eye and peering up, she looked at the sopping wet figure of Kirishima, red hair somehow only slightly bending under gravity. She wondered in amusement how much product and water it would take for it to stick to his head, a thread of amusement running. "Barely." Her voice cracked, making her cough even more. A shiver ran down her spine as her stomach cramped furiously, the familiar feeling of nausea returning. Groaning, she closed her eyes, trying to find a bit of relief.

"Don't worry, the pro heroes are here."

A small sigh passed her lips. "Everyone?"

So exhausted, she was unable to bring herself to formulate an entire question. But it seemed as though Kirishima caught her drift enough to answer her. "Fine. Midoriya's legs are bad from jumping in, but everyone's in one piece."

Rei hummed in satisfaction, allowing herself to go limp. She was much too tired for this. All she wanted was to go home and sleep for a day.

"Akatsuki? Oi, Akatsuki!"

* * *

AN: Ehh... I don't have much to say. I've tried editing the next few chapters, but something isn't clicking for me. Regardless, I'll be posting them ASAP (because I'm a monster and don't have regular update schedules).


	5. Deep End

Chapter 5

Deep End

* * *

_The day had started out sunny and beautiful, a sure sign that spring was here. But as the afternoon wore on the clouds began to gather in the skies, a fluffy gray that began to turn dark and threatening._

_Still, Rei and Haru didn't mind. Even if the waters were higher than usual and they were unable to pick up rocks to hurl back into the canal, they still sat on the edge of the bridge, talking about their day. It had been a good day; Haru had received top marks on a test, and Rei hadn't had to fight anyone off for the past three days straight. For the moment they were content to bask in the peace, talking about the little things in life: how they would show Haru's test to Miss Yuuka, how they would bargain for some snacks later on when they got home, how they would surely become heroes. _

_That was the bulk of their talk, ever since the subject had been brought up a couple years prior. Slowly and steadily, the two of them had begun to rise. With Haru's help, even Rei's grades were beginning to see the light of day, a ray of hope. Their teachers had been impressed, and bit by bit the notorious duo were gaining respect from their elders. If they had been impossible to ignore before, now they were outstanding, shining as bright as the futures they saw in front of them. They had done it, and although there was more to go, they no longer saw the future as inescapable or dreadful. Instead they had changed their destiny, their reality. No longer would they be the rejects, the orphans on the side of the road. They would pave the road themselves, laying down the foundation with their own hands. _

_Nothing lasted forever._

_They were on a high, believing that they could do anything. Sitting on their high horse they were convinced that the world was open to them, if only they tried. The possibilities were only as finite as their dreams. _

"_Oi, it's the rejects!"_

_Rei instinctively scowled, leaning around Haru to look at a group of fifth graders that were coming across the bridge. She moved to stand up, Haru copying her movements with a look of uncertainty on her face as the group drew closer, their leering smiles building a sense of foreboding in the two girls' guts. Placing her hands on her hips, Rei sneered back at them. "Whaddya want?"_

_Their leader grinned, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "You two think you're hot stuff now that you're doing good? Don't you know that you're always gonna fail, no matter what?"_

_It was Haru who stood up straight, hands clenched at her side. "Leave us alone! We haven't done anything to bother you." _

"_Oh, you haven't?" The taunting tone in his voice vanished as he pointed a finger accusingly at Haru. Even though she was bolder and braver, she flinched at the accusation. Rei stepped in between them, using herself as a physical buffer as she snarled at the boy. She really didn't like where this was going. "Miss Know-It-All here has taken top of the class. My parents are gonna be furious when they find out."_

_Rei crossed her arms. "Isn't that your fault for not doing better?"_

_The boy snarled. "Shut up!" He pushed past Haru, shoving her to the side roughly in favor of getting in Rei's face. But golden eyes only gleamed as she stared coldly back into boring brown, refusing to let this entitled kid get his way. She knew how to play this game. Word were something she wielded well, and if it came down to a slander-fest she would undoubtedly win. Rei knew how to get under someone's skin, to rile them up. It was a gift, so to speak. Or at least she considered it to be for now._

_She offered a knowing smirk, just to get further under his skin. "Mommy and daddy can't help you get good grades. Guess you'll just have to do better."_

_But now the boy only smirked back, immediately setting off the warning bells in Rei's head as she looked in confusion. "Trash like you shouldn't talk back, and you certainly shouldn't get in our way." _

_It was then that, out of the corner of her eye, Rei saw movement. Looking over the boy's shoulder, she froze in fear for a moment at the scene before her eyes. "Haru?"_

_Her friend didn't respond, didn't even acknowledge that she had heard Rei's voice. There was a strangely blank look on her face as she climbed over the barrier of the bridge, staring out into the distance. For a moment time stood still, the wind slowing as Rei helplessly watched in horror and fear, the laughter of the boy and his gang drowning out. On the precipice she stood, blonde tresses unbound as always and fluttering gently around her, like an angel of hope, teetering dangerously on the line of life and death._

_She fell._

_It was only after she began to tip forward that her expression came back, fear on her face as she began to fall. Limbs thrashing around in an attempt to get her balance back, it was already too late as she slipped from the edge of the concrete and fell with a scream. "Rei!"_

"_Haru!" But even as Rei stretched out a hand to catch something-a hand, a wrist, a piece of her school uniform-Haru slipped from her hands. The laughter of the boys only enraged her, getting her to land a solid punch on the leader's face, watching without pleasure as he fell to the ground, shocked. "You idiots," she seethed, tears coming to her face. There was no blocking the desperation in her voice, the horror, the fear, the pure angst as her voice cracked from her sudden screech._

"_She can't swim!" _

_There comes a point where the joke must come to an end. The boys apparently realized this, their faces turning sheet white at their mistake. Their leader began to blubber, unable to put two and two together, eyes glazing over. Surely he hadn't realized the honest repercussions. No one did. "We-we were just, I…."_

_But Rei didn't want to hear it. Jumping over the bridge barrier with ease Rei immediately jumped into the waters below, not even hesitating. She crashed through the cold with shock, a cry instinctively coming from her as water threatened to fill her lungs. But she broke the surface with a sputter, trying to cough out the water from her lungs as she simultaneously looked around her. The water was carrying them quickly as the tide was higher than usual flowing through the canal, but Rei saw Haru hovering a bit further in front of her. _

_Doing the best she could, Rei awkwardly paddled through the water to reach Haru, who was trying her best to stay afloat. Her movements were sluggish, eyes glazed as she inhaled mouthful after mouthful of water and air, sputtering and coughing and trying to stay alive. Rei was in a similar boat, never having swum before in her life, but doing all that she could to reach her friend. She had to save her. That was what heroes did._

_What seemed like hours passed before Rei was able to reach Haru, grabbing a flailing wrist in order to grab on to something. But with the new tether came all of Haru's panicking, her fears, her inability to make sense of the situation. Latching onto Rei, Haru began to push her friend down in an attempt to stay afloat, forcing a mop of black hair under the water. Confused, Rei attempted to get Haru to let go, but she was held in a vice grip, forced underneath the panicking girl. _

_There was nothing she could do. It was only a matter of time before Rei had to breath, the only thing entering her lungs a generous portion of water that made her twitch and writhe, the pain too much to bear. Still above, Haru continued to push her away, not to her intention, but only for her survival. With the world spinning and panic setting in there was no telling who was who, instincts unfortunately taking over._

_Rei's world slowly went black, surrounded by bubbles and a dim light in the distance. There was no helping them, and she accepted her fate resignedly, embracing the cold dark waters around her as she closed her eyes. _

_She had tried to help her friend. At least Haru would survive. If this was what heroes did, then it was enough for Rei._

* * *

She had only passed out for a few minutes again, but apparently it was enough to warrant concern from the professionals on the field. Sitting on the grassy area outside USJ after everyone had finally evacuated, Rei continued to push the medical staff away while wringing out portions of her hair. It was a difficult task, seeing as only small clumps could fit in her hand in one grab, the choppy and messy strands standing out at different angles. The action only put a deeper frown on her face as she worked both for herself and to dissuade the medical professionals. She felt like a drowned cat, trying to preen itself back into at least a somewhat presentable figure, but all her attempts were certainly failing. It didn't help that the paramedics were circling her frantically, trying to get her to sti still so they could get an accurate read. But Rei had made up her mind. "Seriously, I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere."

"But you almost drowned! We must take you back to the hospital to check you for any remaining liquids in your lungs. If left unchecked-"

"I know, I know." Rei cut them off, shaking her head out and flinging small droplet everywhere, causing the two medics to flinch back slightly at the sudden movement and wetness. The young student looked at them in the eyes, exhaustion clear on her face but also mixed with determination. She had made up her mind, and she would be stubborn about it until she got her way, at least for now. "My quirk will make sure I'm fine and keep me from dying. If I have any other complications I'll see a doctor."

They had been arguing for for almost a minute now, with Rei resisting any other treatment. She had spoken the truth; she knew her quirk would prevent her from dying. But more than that, the last thing she wanted was a hospital bill for something she could handle. It would surely put a dent in her savings, and she couldn't bother the orphanage about footing the bill as is, what with the terrible and minimal funding they already received. The money was much better spent on the younger kids, and with summer coming up Rei wanted to make sure that their yearly fund for street food and other booths during the starlight festival was untouched.

She could be rather selfless at times, but only when things really concerned her. She wouldn't admit that much to anyone she barely knew, so she kept her inner thoughts to herself. Surely if she said such things, the medics would whisk her away without a second glance. It was safer to take her away to properly look her over, and definitely aligned with protocol. Who was this girl to ignore them? But she did so anyway, convinced and stubborn as a rock. Propping herself up on her hands and leaning back, she fought her exhaustion to try and keep a strong front up, a last ditch effort to dissuade the concerned techs. "I'll be fine. I promise."

The two didn't seem to believe her, but neither could they find any other reason to take her away. From what they could discern she was perfectly healthy with her vital signs stable, a shocking revelation after hearing from the red headed student who rescued her that she had certainly drowned. It was strange, absolutely bizarre. How was she looking so healthy, when not a few minutes ago she was in a life or death situation? It made no sense, other than the fact that she looked a little exhausted, the only other indicator besides her drenched exterior that she was telling the truth. But without any other concrete reasons to take her away for another diagnosis and analysis, they reluctantly stood and left their patient sitting on the lawn, moving back to their station. There were other villains to look at, and although they were the perpetrators of the situation there certainly were injuries that needed to be treated before they could be locked up in a cell where they belonged.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Rei slumped forward, placing her hands on her knees. That interrogation had been difficult to pull off, what with the careful scrutiny of the medical staff. She could only wish for a towel and her dry school uniform now, though the afternoon sun was working its magic and heating the black suit slowly. Still, it wasn't fast enough to ward off a shiver, running up her spine as she shuddered quickly.

She was still dazed. The haunting memory of what she had seen under the water still filled her mind, the ghastly tendrils of hair lingering between belief and uncertainty of what was reality. It wasn't the first time she had hallucinated a vision of Haru, but never before had it been so strong. Was it truly Haru's ghost coming to haunt her, right when Rei found herself on the brink of death? Eyes glazing over, Haru stared blankly at the floor, lost in thought. For years she had grieved, never quite getting over her loss, longing for the person who meant the most to her. But Haru had been there, just out of reach. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that she could see her best friend.

Was it possible? Reis seemed to think so. If this afternoon's events were any indication of what was in the realm of possibility, all she needed was a little risk, and the certainty of death. Macabre, but a reality. A plan began to form in her mind. It was more of a hypothesis, something that she wanted to test. To do so-

A hand entered her vision, forcing her to look up slowly, blearily. It was none other than her rescuer, a soft grin on his face. "You good?"

Rei watched Kirishima for a moment blankly before processing his words, finally coming up with a response. "Yeah." Grabbing his hand she allowed him to pull her up, an easy feat for the muscled teen. He watched as Rei rubbed her eyes, stifling a yawn as she shook her head slowly. "Fine."

Internally she was frightened. More than that. But she couldn't show fear here; not now, in front of her peers. She didn't want to be the one to break first, to fall behind. There would be time for that later. At least Kirishima didn't seem to say anything or call her on her bluff. Instead he quietly took the lead with a grin motioning for her to follow him as the two of them rejoined the class. Falling into the back of the group without anyone truly noticing them, save for the detective at the front, they assimilated just in time for the head count that was beginning to take place.

"Eighteen…" He trailed off, noticing the last two filing into the back. "Nineteen, twenty." Jotting a note down quickly, he offered a small smile. "Aside from the boy who was injured, everyone seems to be in good condition."

The class began to chatter once again, Kirishima intermingling with the class again while Rei remained on the fringes. Even so, there was a hush over the group, even as they went through lengths to prove that they were fine and safe. It belied their confidence, the strength they attempted to display, working against everything that they tried to present and undermining their intentions. It was laughable. But even Rei couldn't say anything, lest she be a hypocrite herself. Instead she lingered on the periphery, trying to keep a sense of normalcy in order to keep herself sane.

She was ready to fall apart at the seams. The afternoon's events had shaken her up, in more ways than one. It wasn't just the villains' surprise attack, the way she had nearly been cornered if not for Todoroki, the gigantic creature or Nomu as it had been called. All those things she could rationalize as examples of what she would someday face as a hero, and while it had been early and taken her off guard it was a reality that she managed to accept. It was the things that she had almost forgotten, the darkness in her mind that now lingered after her brush with death. The lure of a watery grave had been all too frightening, familiar, and soothing. It was enough to drive Rei mad.

She just had to keep it together for a little while longer.

By the time they had all boarded the bus, the energy began to lift in earnest. Rei sat next to Jirou, the two of them exchanging nods of solidarity as the music lover plugged her ears with a pair of headphones, something Rei had no idea how she had not only snuck along, but manage to keep undamaged this entire outing. At least Rei wouldn't be forced into any conversations she didn't want to have at the moment. Crossing her own arms and closing her eyes, she leaned back in the stiff chair, attempting to make herself comfortable. But rest would not come, forcing her to shift uneasily every few minutes.

It took all of her restraint to not barrel her way to the front of the bus in order to run back to the changing room once they got back to the main campus, get back into her school uniform, and run away. Class was dismissed for the rest of the day, and she was more than ready to get out of this place. She felt stifled, shaken, and broken. She wanted to break. Her mind had been running down a dark place, and by the time she had picked up her backpack she had made up her mind of where she wanted to go.

She was the first one back into the classroom, quickly storing her uniform case back into its perch and briskly striding to her desk to pick up her bag. The worn material of her backpack sagged in her grip, but she paid it little mind as she heaved it over her shoulder and quickly exited the room. Turning in the opposite direction of where she knew her classmates would be coming from, she headed toward the emergency exit. There were no alarms set on the stairway, and Rei jumped over the ledge, hurling herself quickly down the center of the spiral steps and landing on the ground floor with a thud. Heart beating quickly, breath hitching, she knew it wasn't from the physical exertion.

Her hands shook as she exchanged her school shoes for her beaten boots, lacing up the ties as quickly as it was possible as she trembled. The pressure was there, sitting on her sternum, slowly pressing down until she cracked, finally shattering the tension and snapping the string that kept her upright. She refused to run from the school, instead walking as quickly as humanly possible, a gait that bordered a jog if not for the fact that she kept her feet solidly on the ground.

There was no way that she could take the subway. She would break down in an instant. Rei didn't want any more attention. Instead she let her legs carry her aimlessly, but as far away from the school as possible. Walking nowhere as quickly as possible, a hot tear snuck out from her eye. She wiped it away as quickly as she could, holding her breath and feeling her throat tighten in resistance. That was it. Grasping her bag firmly she jumped up into the air as soon as she moved out of range of U.A., looking at her surroundings. There was one place she wanted to go, one place that she could clearly think about.

In the distance she saw a canal in the middle of a quiet suburban area. School wasn't out yet, almost ensuring the fact that she would be unseen, undisturbed. There was a bridge about a kilometer away, and as soon as Rei touched down she started off in that direction. Another tear fell. This time, she let it roll down her cheek, dripping from her chin and onto her uniform.

She was being driven mad, from the inside out. And there was no way to escape it.

* * *

"Is Akatsuki-chan okay?"

The small group of 1-A students looked to Uraraka, who was staring out the window in concern. Each person followed her gaze, watching a figure hurrying off into the distance. It was odd, how she had so suddenly left. It was no shocker that Rei often acted on her own, always remaining on the fringes of the class with either an indifferent expression or a scowl on her face, and leaving as soon as possible. No one really knew why she acted that way, since no one really knew her. She was polite enough to everyone in order to leave a neutral opinion of her in everyone's mouth, though it was obvious that she kept everyone at a distance for some reason. Kirishima was the first to react, a smile on his face. "Don't worry about, Akatsuki. She said she's fine. She's really tough, you know?"

Clasping her hands in front of her chest, Uraraka looked downtrodden, a sad look on her face. "I don't know. She was awfully quiet today on the ride back."

Ashido laid a hand on the girl's shoulder, the two of them looking at one another. "Maybe she's just dealing with this afternoon on her own."

The answer didn't seem to be enough for Uraraka, as she shook her head slowly. "I don't know… Something just seemed off."

"Then I will go and see if she is alright! As class president-"

Uraraka quickly waved her hands in front of her. "N-no, that's alright Iida-kun! Besides, I don't think that Akatsuki-chan…" She trailed off, not exactly knowing how to breach the topic. It was obvious to almost everyone that, while Akatsuki was borderline polite enough to everyone, there were certain people that irked her and ruffled her feathers. The entire class sweat dropped as they stared at Iida, who continued to be as oblivious as ever.

"Then I'll go."

The class turned to the person who had just spoken. Uraraka hesitated, uncertain of what Akatsuki would think, but she nodded. After all, they were better than Iida barging in; at least this person would have some tact…

"Please take care of Akatsuki-chan..."

* * *

By the time she reached the bridge she had regained a tenuous hold on her emotions, though the tears had continued to run down her cheeks. The tightness in her throat and on her chest was a constant, a pain that only reminded her of what she was about to do.

The canal was wide and deep, rushing fairly quickly. _Just like that day_. Setting her bag to the side of the bridge, Rei removed her shoes slowly, carefully, setting them next to her pack. She then removed her gray uniform jacket, shivering as a cool breeze blew through the thin blouse. Even if it was March and sunny, it was still chilly without an added layer, but Rei resolvedly set the clothing aside, folded neatly onto her pack.

So she was here again. After she had vowed never to come back to this state of mind, to always push forward and away, it seemed as though it was inevitable. It was a part of her now, just as much as her quirk. Even her mentor couldn't take that away. Would she be disappointed in Rei?

There was a small voice inside her that told her to stop, to turn away, to put her clothes back on and go home. It was a small ray of hope in her heart that begged her to turn around, to find a bit of joy and clench onto it tightly. But the looming gray that had settled her mind was impossible to think through, her feet moving automatically as she pulled herself up to stand on the bridge's barrier wall. Placing a hand on a beam that held the bridge up, she looked out at the waters below, her eyes glazing over in thought.

Even if her heart wanted her to turn around, there was the bit of her from today that forced her forward. She had seen Haru. Rei wanted to see her again. Another shiver ran down her spine, not only from the chill of the early spring breeze, but from the anticipation, the knowledge of what she was about to do. She had never learned to swim, after all these years. She would drown, just as she had done today. But still…

She wondered if this would be the time, if it would finally happen today. What then? No one would miss her. She was a loner, a reject of society, born without love or a place. If she thought about it that way, then there risk was minimized. She could finally let go. She could see Haru.

With a steady inhale, she released her grip from the beam, stepping out from the bridge-

"Akatuski-san!"

_Shit_.

She panicked.

Rei often denied that she was a cat, that she only had "feline aspects" in her quirk. She didn't have a tail, cat ears, or whiskers, or any other defining physical features that would make her as such. Aside from the fact that her pupils would sometimes be slatted, there were no other physical markings or indicators that she was a cat. That aside, Rei had already accepted internally that, without a doubt, she had cat-like quirk. From jumping insanely high heights or falling without taking damage, heightened senses and regenerative properties, Rei would honestly hone up to the fact that she was, without a doubt, like a cat in that sense. She had an uncanny balance and graceful reflexes-most of the time.

This moment would be classified as the rest of the time.

An exclamation of surprise left her mouth, being caught off guard. Leaning her upper body backwards and pushing her hips out to compensate, she quickly discovered that her momentum had already taken her forward enough to tip her over the edge. Turning in the air she reached a hand out, eyes locked onto the cement slab that was the last outcropping possible. She could make it…

Someone grabbed her wrist.

This led to the rest of her body finishing the arc, slamming her torso into the concrete edge of the bridge. Rei groaned, eyes closing for a moment as she winced from the pain. She had been thrown around enough today; even if she was a tough cookie, there was only so much she wanted to take, and she was quickly reaching her limits both physically and emotionally. With a groan mixed with a growl she used her other hand to push herself up, helping her rescuer pull her up to safety. Grasping firmly onto the metal balustrade she heaved a sigh, looking up to see who had pulled her up.

Golden eyes narrowed. "You."

Yaoyorozu flinched at the accusing tone, a bit of sorrow and uncertainty crossing her features but not enough for her to release Rei's wrist. In silence Rei hoisted herself over the edge, bringing herself back to safety as she stared in anger and confusion at the self conscious girl, who hugged her arms closer to her and looked away. "Akatsuki-san…"

"I can't believe it." Growling, Rei turned back to her belongings not far away, storming over and grabbing her jacket. Throwing the item over her shoulders she buttoned it aggressively, looking back to her vice president. "Why are you here? Did you follow me?"

Even as Rei spit out her words, it only served as some sort of reminder for Yaoyorozu's purpose, the girl only seeming to regain her confidence. Squaring her shoulders and putting on a brave face for the first time that Rei could really remember in conversation with the girl, the class vice president spoke her mind. "Everyone was worried when you left. As class vice-president, I thought that I should check up on you…"

Rei had been shoving one of her shoes on her feet, but her classmate's comment was enough to make her look up. Everyone had been worried about her? She stared at the other girl before scoffing, resuming the process of lacing up her boots. "Yeah, right."

"It's true!" For the first time, Yaoyorozu seemed less self conscious about herself, arguing passionately as she clenched her fists near her chest, taking a step toward Rei. It caught the black haired girl off guard, fingers pausing their task. "We know you keep to yourself a lot, but you're a part of our class. Uraraka was worried when you left so quickly. So were the rest of us." For a moment she looked defeated, hands lowering. "I know today was rough, but you don't need to do this on your own. Let us help-"

"Everyone just leaves me anyway." Rei yanked the laces tighter, cutting Yaoyorozu off with a sharp tone. She kept her eyes trained on her task, tying the laces into a knot at the top and grabbing the other boot. "Once everyone finds out who I am, they'll want nothing to do with me." Pausing, she looked up with impassive gold eyes. "You too."

"And yet, you want to be a hero. You would not be here if that was not true, correct?" At a loss for words, Yaoyorozu simply watched as Rei finished tying her other boot, standing up but refusing to move. "Akatsuki-san, why do you push everyone away?"

Rei had to admit, the girl had an awful lot of courage to stand up to her even after all Rei had done to push her away. In fact, this was one of the first times where she had seen Yaoyorozu so resolute and adamant about something, completely resolved and unwilling to back down or doubt herself. Rei had intentionally been hostile to keep the girl away. If she pushed her away, then at least Rei wouldn't have to be on the receiving end first. But standing here, there was something about her vice-president's resolve that had Rei opening her mouth, if anything, to finally push her away for good.

It was better this way.

Turning to the edge of the bridge to stare out at the waters, Rei placed her hands on the guard rail. For a moment she simply stood their, trying to find the words to start. "Do you want to know why I tried to throw myself from this bridge?" She didn't wait for an answer, instead diving into her story.

"Haru was my best friend. We made a promise to become heroes someday. She was… incredible." Rei's eyes softened as she began to talk earnestly, face covered with a yearning. "She was everything I couldn't be. Smart, pretty, talented, dedicated. She was going places, you know?"

At this Rei could feel her throat tightening again. She was forced to stop as she collected herself, leaning forward and placing her forearms on the rail. Swallowing, she tried to find the voice to go on, but found that she was at an impasse.

It was Yaoyorozu who spoke out tentatively. "'Was'…?"

Hunching over, Rei's brows furrowed as her eyes became hard. Hands clenching the metal beneath her fingers, she shook. "It was around this time, five years ago. A group of boys were angry because Haru had passed them to become top ranked in the class. They threw her from a bridge into the canal below." Yaoyorozu gasped, a soft noise that had Rei's heart breaking all over again. Looking at the water below she could almost see the two of them struggling in the water all over again, ready at death's door. "I jumped in to save her. But neither of us could swim. When I got to her, she pushed me under, trying to survive. I lost consciousness."

Yaoyorozu stepped closer, slowly, until she was leaning against the guardrail next to Rei. Glistening silver eyes watched her companion's face carefully, even as the first tears began to fall. "I was supposed to die. But then I woke up in the hospital." Pulling one of her hands from under her, she looked over it, watching detachedly as her hand clenched and unclenched. "My quirk saved me. But it was too late for Haru."

"How could anyone do such a thing?"

Rei's fist clenched hard. "Because of who we were." Standing up straight, she looked at Yaoyorozu. "We were orphans, the trash beneath their shoe. Those kids couldn't handle anyone being brighter than them, especially a societal reject." Her gaze turned hard, anger flowing out of her as she began to rant. "Don't you see? Everyone leaves, because I'm not even supposed to be here! I should have died the day I was born. I should have died that day in the river. I shouldn't be here…"

Her voice cracked, and with it her exterior. Shoulders crumpling, Rei buried her face in her hands. "...because Haru should be here."

She had been holding back all day, stifling her emotions, waiting for a point where she could just let it all go. Rei hated showing emotion, had no intention of breaking down in front of anyone, especially her vice-president. But everything was too much, the swirling emotions and tightness that threatened to crush her throat and her ribs finally cracking and exploding. Forced to run away from villains, to fight villains, to see Haru again, to try and keep her composure to act tough in front of her peers. So she let go. Heaving a sob she cried, allowing the tears to drip through her hands and run down her forearms, absorbed into the gray uniform jacket. It didn't matter what Yaoyorozu thought anymore. She would leave anyway-

A pair of hands rested on her upper arms, jolting Rei and forcing her to look up. She looked at Yaoyorozu's pained smile, a reassuring gesture that trembled even with her own emotions. Thumbs tracing circles on Rei's upper arms, Yaoyorozu spoke softly, voice filled with gentleness and sympathy. "But you _are_ here, Akatsuki. Even if you wish it were some other way, none of us would. I would not want anyone else to sit behind me in class, to stand with me in a villain attack." Her smile became even more genuine though muted in a way to match the current swirl of emotions, but there was a bright light behind her that shone into Rei's eyes. "Your past does not define you. You got here on your own, and you deserve to be with us."

Rei would never have believed Yaoyorozu. She would have dismissed her words as placating, fake, intended to cheer her up before leaving her alone. But looking into onyx eyes on that afternoon, Rei was forced to realize that she had been wrong. She could hear the honesty in Yaoyorozu's voice, the truth in her words. _Your past doesn't define you_. Rei knew that her peer had meant it, would not judge her from where she came from, a past as unloved and unbroken as she was. Trembling, she sniffled, even more tears flowing from her eyes.

She didn't flinch away when Yaoyorozu drew closer, wrapping her arms around the much shorter girl and pressing her gently to her chest. Rei didn't mind the closeness, the gesture. Instead she found herself hugging the girl back in earnesty, the tears still flowing.

"Akatsuki-san."

Rei pulled back with a sniffle, looking into Yaoyorozu's eyes. The girl removed one sleeve of her jacket quickly, manifesting a cluster of tissues quickly and handing them to Rei. Accepting them with a grateful smile, she blotted her eyes and blew her nose hard, trying to rid herself of all the snottiness. She hated crying, if only because it was difficult for her to smell and breath afterward. But she looked back to her friend, who was staring in concern.

"Akatsuki-san, why did you try to jump?"

Wincing, Rei wrapped her arms around herself, looking to the side. She had forgotten that she had mentioned that to Yaoyorozu. Looking back it was a part of her shame, the dark side that she so often wanted to forget but found herself consumed by. But she wouldn't deny Yaoyorozu that information. Afterall, she had saved her. She deserved that much of an explanation.

"My quirk," Rei began, trailing off. "They call it Nine Lives. It mostly refers to my cat-like abilities, but… also something else." Heaving a sigh, she lifted heavy golden eyes up to make eye contact. "Drowning, hanging, bleeding myself out, overdosing. I've tried it all. None of it can kill me."

"Akatsuki…"

Shaking her head, she continued on. "Earlier today, when I was drowning, I saw Haru. I thought that maybe…" She sighed. "Maybe, that this was finally the end."

Silence. With every passing second, Rei had the growing feeling that she should have held back. Perhaps an orphan was enough for Yaoyorozu to accept, but a suicidal maniac that wanted to throw herself at death's door every time the opportunity arose? She began to close her heart up, sewing herself back together. Just her luck, to find someone that would accept her, only to push her away.

A pair of hands grabbed onto her own, enveloping them in a strong grasp that was warm and comforting. Rei looked up in surprise and confusion, staring at steady onyx orbs.

"Don't let it be. Haru wouldn't want that, would she?"

That was enough to crack her open. Even if it was just a little, like a hesitant crack of a door as she peered around the corner, uncertain of who was on the other side, it was enough for the ray of hope to take over once again, pushing the dark clouds away. They were still there, as they always had been, but the future for the first time in a while didn't seem so bleak, so harsh. A smile cracked on Rei's face, tears threatening to spill again.

"Yeah. Yaoyorozu-san?"

"Please, call me Momo."

"Right… Momo. I'm sorry I've been a jerk."

"It's fine. Do you feel better?"

She would never know just how wonderful Rei felt in that moment, even in the pain.

* * *

Yaoyorozu had walked with her to the station, filling the space with chatter that Rei found herself warming up to. As it turned out, Yaoyorozu wasn't the rich girl Rei had expected her to be; even while she had her moments, the girl had a heart of gold that underlied every action she made. It was respectable, and Rei found herself slowly opening up to the girl with every question and answer that bounced between the two.

She had made Yaoyorozu promise to keep everything she had said a secret; even if Yaoyorozu was accepting and kind, Rei wasn't prepared to face the rest of the class with her deepest and darkest secrets. They had made the conversation light from then on out, and by the time they reached the station Rei found herself promising to eat lunch with the girl the next day, swayed by her earnest enthusiasm. But even Rei found herself looking forward to the excursion, a small smile on her face the rest of the way home.

There was one final stop to make before returning home, however. Stopping by a flower shop, she picked up a small bouquet of brilliant gerbera daisies, clutching them tightly as she made a small detour to her route.

The cemetery was empty, the warm afternoon glow illuminating the patchwork of tombstones as Rei made her way down familiar paths. Towards the back of the land, near a cherry blossom tree, Rei sat down next to a small tombstone, brushing away the flower petals and cleaning the marker before laying down her own bouquet. Sitting on her shins, she breathed in deeply, sitting for a moment in silence before speaking.

"Hey, Haru."

Wind whispering through the branches and rustling the flowers around, Rei spoke in a hushed tone, as though someone would overhear her. "So, we're getting close to the end of the first week at U.A.. Can you believe I made it?" She laughed, though it trailed off at the end with sadness. "You should be here with me. There's not a day that goes by where I don't imagine how you'd handle the teachers, or how you'd do in the battle tests. You'd be amazing here, Haru."

Breathing in deeply, she began again. "I made a friend today. A rich kid, no less. You'd probably laugh." Chuckling to herself, she sheepishly scratched her head. "But she's nice. You'd love Momo-san. She can create any unliving thing with her quirk. She's smart, and sometimes kind of annoying with how perfect she is, but…" Rei smiled sadly. "She didn't look down at me, when I told her that we're two societal rejects."

"I think Momo would like you too. The two of you'd get along well. You'd be unstoppable in battle teams. Oh, did I mention that All Might is teaching? He's really… something." This time Rei laughed freely, thinking about how he had strode into class on the first day of school. "That man seriously prances around the room, kind of like how we used to imitate reindeer back in kindergarten. And Eraserhead is our homeroom teacher. There's so many pro-heroes teaching, it's really incredible. I just… wish you were here to see it."

"Haru," Rei began, resolvedly. "I promised you that I'd become a hero for you. There's so much you didn't get to do, and there's not a day where I don't wish you were here in my place. If it meant that you got to live, then I would give my life in a heartbeat."

"But, is it okay, Haru? If I do this for myself too?"

* * *

AN: Okay, so I reread through what I've written and I... actually am okay with it? I'm trying to update as fast as possible for all y'all, so there will probably come a point when I'll need to take a break and write more. Currently I'm making more edits with the 22nd/ 23rd chapters, since they're pretty flimsy, so hopefully that'll be done by the end of this week.

**Please review! It helps me write faster so I can update more :)**


	6. One Step Forward

Chapter 6

One Step Forward

* * *

"Akatsuki-san?"

Everyone's head snapped up at Tokoyami's remark, freezing Rei in her tracks for a moment. It was overwhelming to have that many pairs of eyes on her all of a sudden, and Rei wanted nothing more than to slink away into the shadows and skulk over to some unwatched corner. But much to her surprise, the more that she looked at their faces and scruitinized their reactions there was only… surprise. No hate, no suspicion, no one looking like they were ready to smash her head into the ground. Scratching the back of her neck where her hairline started, she shifted her weight, looking away sheepishly. "Hi." It was lame, but no one seemed bothered, still too shocked by her apparently willing appearance.

"Akatsuki! Come sit!"

Rei looked up, blinking in surprise as she saw Yaoyorozu on the other end of the table, waving her hand calmly. Sure enough, the brilliant star student had saved her new friend a seat, earning a small smile and a tentative wave from Rei herself. Walking around the back of the table to the other side, she plopped down gratefully, unpacking her homemade bento.

"Woah, Akatsuki is sitting with us."

"This is exciting!"

"She isn't so scary when she's eating!"

Opening her chopstick case with a click, she hid her smile as best she could. Normally she would have immediately told them off, her heightened hearing catching everything her classmates said without them realizing it oftentimes. Usually she would have been irritated that they were saying things about her, hiding them from her face.

Today she felt nothing. Well, except for a bit of humor and relief. It seemed as though they weren't as against her as she thought. She tried to ignore the dark voice in the back of her head that nagged away, pushing it back into the corner where it belongs. Today she was sitting with a friend, and she would do her best to stay as positive as possible.

Well, as neutral as possible. She wasn't making any promises.

Thankfully, Yaoyorozu came to her rescue. "How was your day off? I didn't get to ask you earlier."

Covering her mouth while swallowing and speaking, she readied her next bite. "Good, I guess. There's lots of work to be done around the house." She spoke carefully, not wanting to drop any information she wasn't ready to share yet while also wanting to speak truthfully. Facts aside, they were in a public space with a hundred ears around them, and Rei was willing to be that she wasn't the only one with stellar hearing. Shouji was a prime example of that. Popping another small bite of food into her mouth, she covered her mouth as she spoke. "Whaddabout you?"

Momo seemed amused with how Rei both spoke with her mouth full while trying to be as considerate as possible, at least covering her mouth so no one could see the beginnings of her digestion. But she smiled in a carefree manner anyway, responding with pep. "I spent it reading more books. It's good to be prepared. There's so many things I could make, but I'm only limited to what I know."

Humming in interest, Rei appeared as though she was looking at her friend in a new light. "Incredible. No wonder you were recommended for U.A., Momo."

She flushed under the attention, accepting the compliment while also trying to push it away. "It's nothing much, since I need to make sure that I am keeping up with everyone. Remember what you said, during the first battle trial?"

Rei blinked, then looked away sheepishly. "Oh. Yeah. I was an asshole, wasn't I?"

"But you were right." Yaoyorozu offered another smile. "I need to keep working hard, if I want to keep up."

Everyone stared at the two in apparent shock, the two girls carrying on their conversation softly and unaware of the looks they were receiving. Kirishima slapped his cheeks as though to make sure that he wasn't dreaming, looking at the rest of his classmates to make sure that they were seeing the same thing. "Oi, are we all seeing this…?"

"Yaomomo and Akatsuki…"

Jirou leaned forward on the table, watching the two chatter away. "I wonder what Yaomomo said to Akatsuki yesterday. Usually Rei's all glares and gloom, but now…"

To be frank, Rei wasn't outright smiling. But neither was she emitting the normal aura that screamed for everyone to get lost around her. She was less Bakugo-esque and more Yaoyorozu, if anything. Instead she seemed more to be the watchful and lazy cat, whose eyes saw all and stared unblinkingly at the room, watching everything and everyone. What was more was that she was actually not just tolerating Yaoyorozu, but actually actively sat with her and talked with the girl. They wondered just what Yaoyorozu had said to her the day before…

Which was just as scary. How had Yaoyorozu befriended the ball of fury that sat in the corner? Maybe their vice-president was just as scary. The group sweat dropped, looking on in confusion and interest. Perhaps it was for the best if they didn't know, and just accepted it as one of life's odd outcomings and moved on.

* * *

The end of the day had finally come, after another tedious day of lessons and sitting around. Stretching her arms into the air, Rei scrunched her face tightly into a ball for a moment before relaxing, looking forward blearily. Yaoyorozu turned around in her seat, looking excitedly at Rei with a glimmer in her eyes. Uncertain if she was ready for whatever her new friend was planning, Rei leered at her suspiciously, squinting her eyes as her vision returned to normal. "What's that look for?"

Instead of answering, the creator quirk girl pulled something from her lap, extending it into the air and setting it onto Rei's newly cleared desk. Staring at it for a moment, Rei sat stunned. "This is…"

"Yesterday, I noticed that your backpack was wearing a little thin. I tried to keep it the same as your current bag, with a few renditions of mine since I didn't really know the internal specs of it so I improvised with some of the pockets…"

She continued to prattle on about the specs of the bag as Rei held it in wonder, sifting through the pockets herself as she gently touched the fabric. It was of a much higher quality than her current one, what with it being from the dollar store and not the most sturdy, the cheap synthetic materials replaced for dense fabrics that felt weather repellent. The lining was silky smooth, the pockets well sewn as Rei gave a small tug to test it out. If Rei had to put a price tag on it, she would have to work multiple shifts to get something as nice as this, stunning her into silence even as Yaoyorozu continued on nervously.

"I wasn't sure what your favorite color was, so I just stuck to the color scheme you already have. If you don't like it, I can always-"

"I love it."

Rei looked up with a small smile on her face, cutting Momo off. "I've never had a gift like this before. Thank you."

She pulled her old back onto her lap, removing all her materials and placing them in her new bag. Her new bag! She was ecstatic; she had never had such a gift before, and she was eager to try it out. Rolling up the old, flimsy bag and shoving it into a corner in her new one, she zipped it up and stood up, slinging it over her shoulder. "Thank you, Momo. I love it."

It was apparent that the girl had been stunned into silence, staring in shock as she watched a smile form on Rei's face. She was smiling. Rei looked at her friend, blinking owlishly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all." Shaking her head and her hands, she reached for her own bag, standing up confidently. Rei decided to not press the matter, already talking more than normal as was. It was shocking how exhausting socializing could be when she hadn't hung around so many people in so long. She was ready to head home and drop dead asleep, but there was work to be done first. At least Yaoyorozu seemed to pick up on this, but avoided mentioning the topic. "Do you want to walk to the station together?"

Rei was about to nod, when her ears picked up a steady hum of noise beyond the classroom. She hesitated, instead turning to look at the door at the corner opposite from her desk. There was someone-no, there were a bunch of people outside the classroom of 1-A. Why would there be so many people, and why weren't they coming in? Rei froze as she watched Uraraka approach the door, apparently oblivious to what was going on outside, golden eyes trained on the poor girl.

The door opened, revealing a flood of people waiting outside the door.

"Huh? What's going on?!"

The shock on the gravity girl's face was apparently shared with everyone else in the classroom as they stared at the mob that lingered just beyond the threshold of the classroom. How were they to get through such a crowd? But Rei only looked at the crowd in determination, nodding to Momo. "Let's get out of here."

Surprised, Yaoyorozu followed behind Rei's confident strides. "R-right…"

Rei heard Iida calling out to the crowd, the rest of their classmates talking amongst themselves nervously in confusion. Leading the way for Momo, she strode forward confidently, ready to wither anyone who even dared cast a wrong look in their direction. But just as she was reaching the front of her row, Bakugou stood up, nearly crashing into Rei, who scooted to the side.

The two looked at each other in brief surprise before Bakugou smoothed his face over with a small sneer. "Are you gonna move?"

Raising an eyebrow, Rei looked back to the crowd at the door, her gaze darting between the two a few times before finally opening her mouth. "Depends. Are you gonna handle those pathetic fanboys hanging at the door, or should I?"

For the first time that Rei could remember, the red eyed boy smiled at her. It wasn't menacing or intended to scare her away, and it wasn't a look that lorded over her. Instead it was more of a twitch of the corner of his lips, a raised eyebrow that seemed to look at her in a new light. Rei wanted to roll her eyes. Wasn't it obvious that the students standing at their door were scouting out the competition for the sports festival? But considering some of their classmates and their ability to put two and two together, perhaps it wasn't so obvious to others. Perhaps that was why Bakugou was looking at her with a look of appraisal, as though seeing something in her that was worth keeping around.

Rei rolled her eyes. "Scratch that. Don't even know why I bothered asking. Just don't do anything too stupid."

Stepping away to make room for the boy, she watched as he rolled his eyes, slinging his bag over his shoulder and heading for the door. It was useless to ask Bakugou such questions; that boy had his mind made up within a split second, and she was foolish to pretend she didn't know otherwise. She followed close behind him with Yaoyorozu still trailing behind at a bit of a distance, hands in her pockets as she stood up straight, eyes returning to looking bored. A bunch of harpies, the lot of them. Vying for attention, trying to see who was the strongest; none of it mattered. If they got in her way, she would crush them.

Mineta was currently at the front of the class, shrieking into the void of students. "We can't even get through! Just what are you all here for?!"

"Scouting the biggest threat-"

"Scouting out the enemy, small fry."

Rei and Bakugou has spoken at the same time, much to the surprise of the class and the students on the fringes who watched their casual approach. The two shared a look of surprise and raised eyebrows at having spoken simultaneously and on the same track, but Rei only shrugged her shoulders, pointing her chin towards the bigger problem and for him to continue.

He seemed to accept her direction, stepping ahead without flinching. He couldn't help but soak up the spotlight, no matter what situation. And he was a natural, taking the stage and capturing everyone's attention in one fell swoop. "We're the ones who made it out of the villain attack. They probably wanna check us out before the sports festival." Walking straight up to the door and staring back at the expectant faces, most of the crowd withered immediately under his intense and piercing gaze. "Move outta the way, extras."

While Iida and the rest of 1-A began to panic over Bakugou's words, Rei stepped up next to him, crossing her arms over her chest as she threw a lazy gaze around. "At least get out of our way and quit blocking the doorway." She paused. "Please."

"I came to see what the famous class A was like, but you seem pretty arrogant. Are all the students in the hero course like this?"

Frowning at the new voice, Rei watched as a purple haired boy pushed his way to the front. She snorted. Of course, she would try and play even a tad bit nice, and the first person to accuse them of being over their heads is the person who pushes arrogantly through the crowd. The new kid was one to talk. Staring down her nose at him, she squinted her eyes as he came to stand in front of her and Bakugou.

He continued to address the blonde boy, completely disregarding anyone else around them. Rei was miffed even further. First he had the audacity to push through everyone else and ignore them, and now he only focused on Bakugou, completely ignoring her? But the boy continued on, an emptiness and detached aura about him. "There are quite a few people here who enrolled in General Studies and other courses because they didn't make the hero course. Did you know that?"

From Bakugou's silence, they knew the answer. But Rei had had enough. "Obviously. From experience, one can never be too careful about limiting their options." She forced the boy to turn toward her direction, gold eyes meeting violet. Leveling him with a look and meeting him head on, Rei's eyes flashed. "U.A. is gracious, in that it gives its student the opportunity to rise to the occasion. Just as some may fall from grace as well."

Her comments were enough to get a small glare from the boy, obviously having stolen the thunder from him. Good. He seemed pretentious enough as is; there was no need to keep him on that dramatic high horse. With a scoff, he crossed his arms and mirrored her posture, looking to the rest of 1-A. "I didn't come here to scout. I at least came here to say that, even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep the floor out from under you. I came with a declaration of war."

"Then I'll assume that you're off to 1-B to deliver the same message?" The entire class flinched as Rei went on the offensive, taking a step forward and forcing the purple haired boy to step back in surprise and shock. Waves of irritation rolled off of her, the initial bored appearance she had carried at first transforming into displeasure as she scoffed. "Consider your message delivered. _Now leave_, _or get out of my way_."

The turn of events had been so shocking, a path immediately parted for Rei. She didn't wait for anyone to follow her, already steaming so hard that she was ready to explode. Pretentious little mother fu-

Inhaling deep, she released all the air out of her chest, letting the scowl slowly fade from her face. Who did that kid think he was? Obvious, he seemed like someone who had tried to get into the hero course but had failed, for whatever reason. He seemed strong enough, but Rei was slightly curious as to the reason why he hadn't gotten in. Only slightly. The rest of her was absolutely muffed by the fact that he had dared to stand in that doorway and pretend that his brain was five miles ahead of the rest of them. Sure, he was obviously smart and obviously planning something, but he was singling out 1-A no matter what he said. Even if he said he didn't care about the villain attack, Rei could tell he was intrigued.

Liar. Giving one final eye roll, she angrily opened her locker, aggressively removing her school shoes and sitting down with a huff to tie her laces. Stupid, stupid, stupid. And she had left Momo behind in the classroom, damn it! She would just wait by the school gates for her to come down. They'd meet up eventually. She needed to let off some steam anyway, still riled by that encounter. She couldn't help it that there were just some people that set her off; they were the figurative embodiment of someone rubbing a cat's fur in every which direction, slowly riling it and setting it off. Rei just so happened to be the cat, figuratively and literally.

A figure sat down next to her, and Rei paused in her motions to look at the newcomer. To her surprise, a scowling Bakugou had sat down right beside her, all his focus thrown on tying his shoes. The corner of Rei's mouth twitched upward as she resumed tying her shoes. She couldn't help but make some small talk, so irritated by the purple haired boy's attitude and talk that she had to run her mouth to let off more steam. "That one guy was annoying. Wonder what his quirk is, if he still is aiming for the hero course."

The boy clicked his tongue, standing up quickly and readjusting his hold on his bag as he slung it over his shoulder. "None of my business, if he didn't even make it in."

Putting the finishing touches on her boot, Rei stood up as well, grabbing her bag and walking out the door. Bakugou followed behind before falling into step as they walked at a casual pace toward the front steps. "It might be worth learning. Some people may not have great offensive capabilities, but their quirks are just as dangerous."

"Whatever. If he gets in my way, I'll just beat him up."

"Guess that's a plan." Rei took a moment to actually look at the boy, now that he was next to her. He towered over her, a good foot and then some higher than she was, an intimidating person to be sure even without his dark scowls. His hair shot out in every direction, much like his explosive quirk that he wielded with deadly intent. All together, he wasn't terrible to look at, even if his attitude was often unsavory. The thought was enough to give Rei pause; come to think of it, he wasn't as terrible around her as he was with the other students in their class. Maybe it was because she could hold his gaze without flinching, or otherwise be relatively unintimidated by him? It was a thought, but surely there were other students who didn't mind him.

Scratch that. She was one of the only ones. Even Midoriya, who had grown up with Bakugou, was terrified of the boy and could barely form a cohesive sentence around him.

It didn't matter in the end. Rei was her own person, and she refused to back down. Even when Bakugou noticed her staring, peering over his shoulder to look at her, she only met his gaze with a blank stare. He looked down in loose annoyance, more inquisitive than anything. "What're you looking at?"

"You." Rei wouldn't cut corners. "You're not bad, Bakugou."

"Huh?" Now he looked somewhat irritated, but Rei only gazed forward impassively, even as the explosive boy began to get riled. "What're you going on about now, Akatsuki?"

"Take it how you will."

"Why're you always so cryptic? Just speak plainly for once, dammit."

Rei smiled to herself. "I thought you were just a stuck up brat with an attitude problem. You still are, but you're powerful. You'll be a great hero."

"What-" His brain appeared to short circuit, unable to process the diss and the compliment for a moment as he tripped over her words. He most likely hadn't expected her to be so honest, but Rei only played when she felt like it. She had seen how serious he could get during the villain attack at USJ, how it seemed like he was simply gunning for the strongest guy in an attempt to prove himself, but how his logic was also solid, even if his intents often obscured the core reason. He was smart, and able to think on his feet. There was no denying that he was physically strong, a brute in his own right with a quirk that made him to be like a shooting star barreling across the sky.

Rei knew that, without him, they wouldn't have been able to be as effective in saving All Might. He hadn't crumbled, not once. He was a rock, unshakable, and that was what impressed Rei the most. No matter how offstandish he was or how brusque his personality, he was solid to the core. And that was something Rei admired.

"You better come out on top during the sports festival," Rei continued, pretending to be oblivious to his sputtering, "with all that talk. Don't drag the rest of us down too."

Back on safer ground, he tossed his head. "Tch. I should be saying that to all of you. Don't drag me down during the festival, or I'll kill you."

They had made it to the front gates, Rei stopping short of the exit and forcing Bakugou to turn around and stop. She looked at him with a small grin on her face. "When have I ever? I told you that I have no to plans to take the top, but I'll take anyone down that stands in our way."

"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow, turning around fully to face her. "'Our way?'"

Blinking, she stopped for a moment. Had she really said that? "You said," she began slowly, "that you're going to be the number one hero. And I told you that I have no intentions of being at the top. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to go as far as I can." Crossing her arms, she looked deep into his eyes, dead serious as she spoke. "People can only stand at the top if there are people below them."

It was a reminder of what she had said to him before the first day of class when they had held the physical fitness test, how she had mentioned his move to isolate himself. But she wasn't about to let him do that, and now she knew that she wasn't going to give up on herself either. She slowly walked toward him until they were standing barely a foot apart. Rei had to look up into his face, but she refused to back down or cower as she stared into bold red eyes. Lifting a hand, she poked a finger into his chest, an accusing finger as she spoke. "I'm betting on you to come out on top. So leave those extras at the bottom to me, and focus on becoming number one."

There was a strange look on his face. Surprise was one of the emotions, most likely due to her sudden, close proximity and her bold words. But there was something else behind those eyes, something that Rei was unable to determine before he grasped her protruding hand, lowering it to the side. His grasp was firm but gentle, and as he let go it filled with Rei with a strange feeling in her gut. She hadn't expected him, with all his hard edges, to have any soft part of him, but there was no time to have lingering thoughts as he backed away.

"You're weird, Akatsuki."

Rei smirked, stepping backward and grabbing the straps of her new backpack. "And you're weird as well. But weird doesn't have to mean bad."

He scoffed at her remark, but his eyes were soft even as they partially rolled in his skull. Turning away, he raised a hand in parting, striding down the stairway and out of sight. Akatsuki waved a tiny wave, even if he couldn't see it, a warmth in her chest. No, Bakugou wasn't bad at all. He was like a clam, if anything, with moments where he opened up just so Rei could barely see the soft flesh inside before slamming shut with a vice grip. Even with all his hard edges, he wasn't truly bad at his core; he wanted to be a hero more than anything, and Rei could see that. It was why she had told him that, why she had been completely honest with him.

_I'm betting on you to come out on top._

If anyone could do it, it was Bakugou. Perhaps there were other people with quirks that were also powerful, but if it was something Rei had also learned from a young age, it was that intention and drive took people to even greater places. Talent did not guarantee someone victory, if their motivation was lesser than their opponent. It was determination and the desire to have their dream become a reality more than anything in the world that made the good people great, that put their names into history books. Bakugou was unrefined, but the core was there.

She waited there, lingering in her thoughts and a warm feeling in her chest until Yaoyorozu finally made it out of the building, looking rather overwhelmed and nervous. Rei gave her an inquisitive look. "Tired?"

The vice-president sighed, shaking her head. "Seriously, Akatsuki-chan, that was rather dangerous. Getting the other classes angry at us will only make things worse in the long run."

Rei hummed, falling into step with her friend as they descended the stairs. "I don't think so." When Yaoyorozu looked at her in confusion, she explained to the best of her ability. "Now, everyone in our class knows what's at stake. Everyone will be giving their all from here on out. The fire's been lit."

Momo said nothing, but from the look in her eye it seemed as though she understood. For a moment they walked quietly along the road, lost in their thoughts.

Rei had meant every word she had said. She had faith in their class, that they would know what was at stake at this point. They would have to work harder than ever, if they wanted to keep ahead of the curve. They had been thrown into an unthinkable situation for most high school students, and it would only propel them and make them stronger, if they utilized it right. Turning pain into passion, they would go harder than ever, fulfilling the school motto.

They would learn what it meant to go beyond.

* * *

For the next two weeks, everyone dedicated every spare hour to training. To their fortune, the hero training class ended up giving them extra time to prepare in Ground Beta, allowing everyone to have a space to freely explore and push their quirks. Most people kept to themselves, training in alcoves hidden away from most others. Everyone, even their classmates, would be considered competition at the sports festival, and even friendships would have to be temporarily set aside.

That was the attitude Rei had. Fortunately, it wasn't much different from what she was used to; even if she was warming up to the class and they were beginning to actively include her and make space for her, training alone was something she preferred. For years it had been her and her alone, running around her hometown and pushing herself to become stronger. This was something familiar, something that she was accustomed to. It was a nice change, she had to admit.

Standing at the beginning of a small alleyway, she stared at the narrow walkway in front of her, limbs nearly twitching in anticipation. She breathed in deeply, savoring the last moment of calm before she threw herself into the gauntlet she had created in Ground Beta for herself. The air was pleasantly warm, with a breeze blowing through the area. But she could only marvel at the weather and conditions for so long. There was no time to waste. It was time to begin.

Eyes trained at the thin line of sky high above in the air, she burst forward into the alleyway, arms pumping in time as she prepared. Gaining enough speed she took two jumping steps, on the third landing in a crouch briefly before pushing off into the sky. Like a ping pong ball she jumped from one wall to the other, bouncing in between and pushing her way into the air high above. Her legs burned, aching from the strain as she neared the top, but she pushed through. Gritting her teeth, she gave one final shove, launching into the air and onto the roof.

_Yes!_ With a grin on her face she took off running across the rooftops, easily clearing the gaps like hurdles as she pushed forward with even greater speed. One rooftop dropped two floors from the previous one, making her roll on impact to keep her momentum flowing. She couldn't stop. She had to push on. That gap was only the beginning, and she picked up her pace as she looked at the next space she had to clear.

She hadn't made it all day. The leap was from a four story building to a seven story building, a jump that wasn't impossible but was incredibly strenuous after running the full gauntlet from the ground up. For the past three days since she chose this route she hadn't made it once; the closest she had gotten was the day previous when her hands had managed to grab onto the edge of the building, but she had lost her grip and her strength and fell to the ground below. Pulling all of her focus together, she lifted her eyes to the guardrail high above her head. She would do this.

Like before on the ground, she took two small leaps before crouching on the third, bursting forward with her continuous momentum and soaring through the air. It was exhilarating, every time. Was this what birds felt like when they flew? But at some point Rei had to come down, and she grit her teeth as the building came closer and closer. She began to lose altitude, a snarl on her face. No!

She grabbed the rail with two hands in desperation, her body slamming into the side of the building. Groaning, she held still for a moment, feeling the bruises that were stacking up on her body. She had barely made it, but she had done it. With a grimace she willed her arms to move, to pull her up. In one swift motion she heaved herself up, right left swinging up to step on the ledge and assist in pushing herself up. Rolling over the rail she landed in a crouch, breathing heavily. She had been so close to losing, to giving up, her muscles burning as she tried to catch her breath from the two minute gauntlet.

But she did it. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she wandered around the top of the building, looking out to the rest of Ground Beta and listening to the sounds of her classmates in their own areas. In the distance she could hear something crashing into the ground, the person indistinguishable but surely someone strong, like Kirishima. In the other direction an explosion burst out, immediately identifying where Bakugou was. There were other small noises peppered throughout the training ground, surely everyone else training on their own. Walking to one of the ledges, she peered down to the central street below. No one was around, much to her fortune. Turning around and back up a few paces, she waited a moment before bursting forward, leaping over the rail and plunging toward the ground below.

Wind rushing past her and ruffling her hair, Rei grinned. She had fallen from the massive building before, but never had she been able to completely throw herself from the height. It would be a test to see how much fall damage she could handle, and she took up the challenge with a maniacal look on her face. Was this what Uraraka meant when she thought the catlike girl to be an adrenaline junky? Laughing, she braced herself for impact, landing in a crouch to soften the landing.

The ground broke beneath her feet, dust flying up into the air as she landed. It wasn't a terrible mess, but it was still surprising that she had landed with such force. A vibration ran up her shins at the impact, evoking a grimace on Rei's face once again. She hated that part of landing, even if it meant that she didn't break anything. The reverberations were surely a sign that the landing would have broken most other peoples' legs, but it didn't mean that Rei would ever actively enjoy the sensation. If anything it made her nauseous; bones shouldn't shake like that.

"Akatsuki-san! Are you okay?"

Blinking in surprise, Rei turned her head to see Midoriya running in her direction. For a moment she didn't respond, so surprised as his sudden appearance and his concern for her that she forgot to respond. But after he continued to stare at her she realized that he was waiting for an answer. "Yeah. I'm fine."

He smiled, beginning to chatter away. "That's good. I didn't know that you could fall from such heights without taking damage. I saw Kirishima doing a similar move, but he has a hardening quirk that could take all the damage for him. If Akatsuki-san's quirk is like a cat, that doesn't necessarily mean that she should be able to land without taking damage, since her quirk doesn't appear to be shock absorbent…" He seamlessly shifted from commentary to his typical mutterings, losing himself in his train of thought as he began to analyze Rei's abilities. She could only look at him blankly, uncertain of what she would do. Eventually she just spoke up.

"Midoriya-san, it's fine." Breaking him from his external stream of consciousness, she continued. "My quirk actually helps me regenerate quickly. I've been running and leaping from tall heights for years."

"Oh, I see!" His expression brightened as he began to make connections, synapses firing off as he spoke even more quickly. "By starting with smaller impacts, your bones built up strength to endure larger ones over time, and with your fast healing you could train more quickly since you don't have to wait for them to heal at a normal rate!"

Slowly blinking, Rei stood stunned. Not even she had made that connection. Of course, it made perfect sense now that she thought about it, but she had just attributed it to the fact that her body was constantly healing herself. She had never considered the fact that her bones and body structure overall had been building itself slowly to become even more powerful, making her more efficient over time. Now that she thought about it, it would explain why she couldn't handle incredibly high jumps as a kid; if she had tried to fall from the seven story building she had just jumped off of as a five year old, she surely would have broken almost every bone in her body. But now that she could handle higher jumps…

Rei turned to look around Ground Beta again, searching for the tallest building in the area. She would have to climb to the top of the roofs to get a better look, since she was standing on the main street and couldn't really see past the current line of buildings. But something kept her in her spot, instead looking to Midoriya. The puppy-like boy had gone back to his inner musings, muttering to himself as he held a hand to his chin, his eyes staring blankly at the ground.

Tilting her head, Rei placed a hand on her hip. "Midoriya-san, why are you here?"

He snapped out of his reverie, suddenly looking panicked. "Ah, sorry! I was just passing through! I didn't mean to spy on you, or to bother you-"

"No, that's not what I mean," Rei raised her hands defensively, not wanting the poor boy to have an anxiety attack on her watch. "What I meant was, why aren't you training too?"

Immediately his face changed. Looking down at the ground, his face became rather sheepish. "Well, I can't really control my quirk yet. So I'm focusing on other things, and on learning from everyone else." Startling himself, he apologized again, waving his hands in front of him. "Sorry, I'm not trying to snoop or learn your secrets. I just mean that I can learn so much from everyone."

Normally Rei would have been slightly suspicious. A classmate who wasn't seriously training his quirk and instead was walking through Ground Beta, watching other people? The purple haired boy from a few days before popped into her head, and she mentally scowled. That was a tactic that was more up that boy's alley, but Midoriya wasn't like that. Rei knew that for a fact. He was gentle and genuine, and sincerely wished for the best for everyone, even as competition. As she watched his face morph into awkwardness and sheepishness, she found something lingering in her heart.

She decided to run with it.

"Train with me."

He looked up in shock. "W-what?"

Crossing her arms over her chest, Rei avoided eye contact. It was a thought that had just passed through her mind quickly, and she had blurted it out almost without thinking. But even she had to admit that training alone was dangerous; there was only so much preparation one could do for a battle royal or one-on-one fight, and Midoriya was a wealth of information. At least, that was what she had rationalized. She shoved the tiny voice in her head away that was swayed by the sweet and kind boy in front of her. "Train with me. If you don't want to rely on your quirk, you'll have to find another way to stand out, right? And there's undoubtedly going to be a battle portion. Wouldn't it be better to fight someone in real life?" Shrugging her shoulders, Rei shifted her weight. "You don't have to. It's not like I won't gain something either. Either way, I-"

"Okay."

Rei blinked. "That's it?"

"Yeah." Midoriya looked even more determined than ever, clenching a fist. "Like you said, we'll both benefit. We both have to do our best, and this is one way to go about it, isn't it? I look forward to working with you."

She hadn't known exactly why she had offered to train with him. If anything, this put her at a severe disadvantage; if Midoriya and her advanced far enough, he would become a threat simply because he would know so much about her. He was already a walking, talking, lexicon of everyone's strengths and weaknesses, and knowing every detail about her would likely cost her in the long run.

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she was beginning to believe Momo. She wasn't alone anymore, and she didn't have to suffer by herself. Life was better with friends, wasn't it? And perhaps Midoriya could be a friend. That was the core reason of why she had reached out at the opportunity, ignoring all the logic that screamed at her to stop everything she was doing and run in the opposite direction. Eyes softening, she relaxed her arms to her sides. "Let's do our best, right?"

Lifting his head up, Midoriya smiled brightly. "Right!"

"But first," Rei looked around, "I think it's time to test this theory of yours."

"Eh?"

A wicked smile crossed over her face, and suddenly Midoriya was reminded of just how terrifying Rei could be. Even if she was beginning to warm up to everyone (in her own way, at least), there was no denying that the brooding girl could be as sinister looking and as dangerous at Bakugou when he was angry. The grin on her face only seemed to serve as a reminder of the similarities, sending a shiver down Midoriya's spine as he swallowed hard.

Eyes turned to the highest building in the area, she pointed a finger at it in excitement. When Midoriya managed to put two and two together he shuddered, horror clearly on his face. But she didn't seem to see his fear, so focused on her destination. "It's time to see how hard I can fall."

* * *

It had been a hard fall, that was for sure.

Rei was almost certain that she was going to die during the final class of the day. Sitting in her seat was making her joints hurt, her knees and ankle locking up and creating a whirlwind of pain every time she shifted or tried to move them. She was almost certain that everyone around her could hear them creaking and protesting their abuse like unoiled door hinges that creaked with old age, and by the time the final class of the day was over Rei slumped forward in her desk, planting her face into the surface and and groaning.

Yaoyorozu turned around in concern. "Are you alright, Akatsuki-san?"

Rei only groaned in answer, her words muffled as she spoke into the desk. "Dammit, Midoriya, this was your idea."

"Um, Akatsuki-san?"

Grumbling to herself, Rei lifted her head, eyes narrowed as she glowered. Speak of the devil; Midoriya took a tentative step back as he looked at the seething girl, suddenly unsure of what he was about to ask. "Ah, are you alright?"

Groaning again, Rei slammed her face back into her desk, head hitting the desk with a dull thud and making Midoriya and Yaoyorozu jump in surprise. "Everything hurts. Stupid ass building."

Midoriya chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, that was my idea, wasn't it?"

Turning her face sideways to look at the boy, Rei's face turned inquisitive. "What's going on?"

The green haired boy rummaged around in his pants pocket for a moment before pulling out his phone, a sleek smart device that was protected with a slim case. Rei stared at it for a moment as he unlocked it, pulling up his phonebook. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to meet up tomorrow. You can come to my place; I know a great spot we can go to from there."

"Sure." Punching in her name and number carefully, she gingerly handed the phone back to the boy. He seemed elated, about ready to burst with energy as he smiled brightly.

"Great! I'll text you my address later. See you!" With a wave he bounded away, heading toward Iida and Uraraka, who had been waiting for him at the door. Thankfully there were no crowds any longer, the interest in Class 1-A finally having died down as time passed. Rei breathed a sigh, finally starting to pack up her belongings.

Yaoyorozu stood up, already finished. "I'm going to use the bathroom before we leave. I'll meet you at the gates?" Seeing Rei nod her head, the vice-president swept out of the room quickly, leaving Rei alone.

Finally, a moment of peace. Rei's head was swirling with all the information from the day; the chapter they had read in English was on repeat, number and equations swirled in her brain, she could fall from a twelve story building without taking substantial damage, and she was going to train with Midoriya for the sports festival. Of all the things that should have been at the forefront of her mind at the moment, it was the gentle boy who couldn't control his quirk. Rei was still a bit surprised that she had asked to train with him, but she had already begun to accept it. If anything, she was beginning to look forward to the next day, already thinking of a basic plan of attack and what they could practice.

"Oi."

Or she wasn't as alone as she had thought. The rest of the class had already left, leaving Rei alone with one final person that she could recognize in a heartbeat. With a sigh she continued packing her belongings, not bothering to look up at the person who had moved to stand next to her desk. She was tired, and there was still more to think about and prepare for. As such, her voice was a bit more biting than usual, although a small piece of her knew that Bakugou could handle it without taking too much offense. "What?"

"The hell are you training with Deku? He's damn useless."

"Midoriya is a wealth of information that I could only dream of having." She carefully corrected him, still adamant on avoiding his gaze. She could feel the wrathful stare she was receiving without even looking up. "Plus, I offered."

"_What_?"

At Bakugou's flabbergasted response, Rei zipped her bag up tightly and finally turned to stare back into caramine eyes. She had been expecting anger and wrath, which were rightfully at the forefront of his look. But for a moment she saw disbelief flash across his face, along with something else that passed too quickly for her to identify. Standing from her desk, she looked up into his face. "Why are you so surprised?"

"What the hell do you think you're doing? I thought you were smart."

"And I've realized that I can only train so much on my own. Midoriya bumped into me during training today, and I took the opportunity." Readjusting her grip on her backpack, she began to walk around him, but he shifted to stand in her way, forcing her to look up at him. She glowered at the interruption, continuing to speak at him in a level tone. "Who else would I train with?"

He scoffed, looking away from her. "At least work with that creator girl that you're now friends with."

That was enough to raise an eyebrow. "Yaoyorozu? She's lording over her books, and she can't fight me on my level. I don't want to bother her, since her approach to this thing is different than me."

"But why Deku? Why-"

"Who else? You?" Rei rolled her eyes, looking out the window so she could stop craning her neck to look up at the boy in front of her. "You don't want that; you're off by yourself doing whatever you're doing. Don't even joke about that."

Silence. After a few moments she turned her head back, looking back up into Bakugou's face. He still refused to meet her gaze, staring off to the side. But something had changed on his face, his expression softer as he seemed to listen to her words and her logic. Had he seriously wanted to train with her? She would never know, but Rei knew that her logic was sound; he was busy on his own, and he wanted no one knowing what he was going to pull. Taking a step forward, she placed a hand on his shoulder delicately, watching as his face turned to meet hers.

"I don't know why you hate Midoriya so much, and I won't ask." She watched as his face creased at the mention of the boy's name, but she continued to speak quietly, calmly. "But he's my classmate too, and he's proven that he can be useful. Unless you can give me a good reason not to train with him, then I'm going to do what I see as most beneficial and logical."

He remained silent, Rei taking it as her cue to leave. Sliding her hand from his shoulder she walked past him, exiting the room and heading down to the shoe room. Sliding a hand over her face as she hobbled along stiffly, she sighed.

What was with Bakugou? The two of them for the most part never fought, and he never raised his voice at her like he did with the others in their class. But for the first time during the term she had gotten an idea of what it was like. The anger boiling in his eyes was real, all because Rei had decided to train with the boy that Bakugou detested the most in their class. Huffing, Rei shook her head to move some of the black strands of her hair out of her face. Whatever. It didn't matter what he thought. She would do what she wanted.

But there was a small bit of her that did care what he thought. She respected him, on the fact that he was one of the most powerful kids that she had ever met. He had fire and potential, and an iron will. He was strong. And at the end of the day, Rei couldn't deny that she wanted him to see her and respect her a bit too.

Her mind swirled with her thoughts all the way to where she met Yaoyorozu at the gates, the girl looking at her in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Shaking her head, Rei moved forward. "Nothing. Just thinking about the sports festival."

* * *

AN: Thank you for everyone who has reviewed and told me that they like Rei! I'm really happy that so many of you enjoy her. To respond to **Rynxenvy**, I've written a lot of characters that are more cheery and peppy, and I've finally gotten that out of my system. Sometimes it takes writing about the same character thirty times before you can get to the more interesting and diverse personalities, and that's something I'm really striving toward. My hope with Rei specifically is that she will learn how to be softer and to be happier, but I'm definitely going to keep her more brusque shell and biting humor.

To **N3mm**, thank you so much for your kind words! I definitely have a lot to live up to, but I hope that I will be able to continue this style of writing that you have enjoyed thus far. I'm afraid that some of the characters in the future might get a little out of character (because canon can be demolished and rebuilt) but I'm definitely going to try and keep them as in character as I possibly can. We'll have a bit of fun with that when we get there :)

As always, please review! I really appreciate you all.


	7. Before High School

Chapter 7

Before High School

* * *

"_Starting at the beginning of next term, we'll be having tutors come in to work with you."_

_Rei chewed on a mouthful of rice, eyes narrowed in suspicion at the headmaster. He was a portly man, and the fact that he had a head of a brown bear didn't help the image of a rotund bear storing up food for the winter. Around the children of the orphanage he was feared for his temper and otherwise cold personality, a ruthless man who ran the organization like a business, careless of the people that lived within its walls. Behind his back the children often called him Mr. Bear, or Rei's favorite, Mr. Cutlet. Suffice to say, there were few people who took him seriously. _

_He rarely ever addressed the children, or was rarely ever seen for that matter. No one really knew what he did, although there were whispers that he was rather… lecherous. At least that was what the older girls whispered amongst one another while they thought no one was listening, but Rei's sharp ears picked everything up. She was privy to some of the darker going-ons in the orphanage, but she wisely kept her mouth shut and her head down._

_None of it mattered anyway. Who cared about them anyway? The lost souls of society._

"_The junior high students will be prioritized first. You'll be working with your tutors for the next term or so. You'd better show them some respect; this is a trial with a new mentoring program from Tokyo."_

_The dining hall broke out into chattering amongst all the students, thirty eager children talking animatedly with one another. A younger girl sitting next to Rei turned to her elder with an excited look on her face. "Rei-nee-san, did you hear that?"_

_Putting a small smile on her face, Rei turned back to the first grader. "Yeah, I did. Better keep working hard, okay?"_

"_Right!" _

_Rei carefully stewed over the new information, mostly keeping to herself for the rest of the evening. Tutors and mentors for the junior high students, huh? She was about to enter seventh grade, meaning that she would be paired with someone. With a grimace, she dug into her food aggressively. It didn't matter. They were probably only doing it for community service hours, or whatever selfish reason they needed._

_No one cared about them._

_They had to look out for themselves._

* * *

"_Hello, I'm Fujioka Reina."_

_Rei slumped at the dining room table, where she and a few other students were meeting their mentors for the first time. They had spread out through the building, leaving Rei and her mentor at one end of the table and another couple at the other end, talking in hushed voices that Rei was listening to half heartedly. "I'm Akatsuki Rei," she offered in a bored tone. What was the point of this again? For these people to come in, attempt to care, and then leave after their term was done?_

"_Oh, we almost have the same name!" _

_The girl sitting before her was extremely pretty and poised, back rigid as her hands were clasped in her lap, hidden beneath the table. She definitely came from wealth, or at least some important background what with the way that she carried herself with such poise. With gunmetal gray hair and warm brown eyes she looked more like a model, making Rei feel even more out of place. The only comparison she could make at the moment between the two of them was like between those beautifully painted Hinamari dolls that she often saw in store fronts and a lumpy potato someone threw in a curry stew. Leave it to her to get the most put together and uptight tutor in the program. Shrugging her shoulders, Rei crossed her arms in her seat. "Yeah."_

_Reina seemed to slump a bit at the dismissive and unengaged attitude Rei was throwing, but she remained undeterred. "So, you're a seventh grader? Tell me how it's going so far."_

_Staring at the table, Rei shrugged again. "It's okay, I guess. School's boring."_

"_Boring?" She began to press the question, digging deeper. "Like, too easy? Or not fun?"_

_Rei heaved a sigh, sitting up and leaning forward on the table. "Look, why are you doing this? I don't really need a tutor or whatever. I'm doing fine." _

_This time Reina's brows furrowed as she leaned forward to match Rei's posture, placing her laced fingers on the table as she stared across concernedly. "Well, I'm here to be more than a tutor. I guess I'm here to be a friend too, or anything you need me to be." _

_What was the point? This girl seemed to mean well, but Rei knew that she was only going to leave when her time was up. The program ran for a term to a year, but most of the staff had only volunteered for one term, or so Rei had heard. She would be here for a few months and then would have the fortune of leaving; it wasn't like Rei could leave her situation. The thought made her bitter, and she slumped forward on the table. "Sure." _

_She knew she was making it difficult for the young girl across from her, but Rei seriously didn't see the point. What was the use in making a friend if she was just going to up and leave in a few months time? There wasn't one. Reina shifted uncomfortably, but continued to push forward. "Well, do you have any homework to do? We can start with that, if you'd like."_

_Pulling her backpack up from the ground next to her, Rei began to unload her notebooks and assignments. Might as well make some use, especially if this was how it was going to be for the next few months. Her mind drifted even as Reina began talking to her about her math notes, reviewing concepts and asking questions. She paid attention with half her mind, the other half drifting elsewhere._

_There wasn't a point, now that Rei was alone. Nothing mattered. She would just fade into the background one day, and would vanish without a trace. That was how it was for the kids at the orphanage. No one would miss her, and no one would look for her. What was the point in trying? _

_This was life's lot, and she would just have to accept it. Nothing would change. Not even a bright face from the north, who thought that they could change a lost soul like Rei. _

* * *

**Midoriya I. (6:15 PM)  
**Here's my address!

**Midoriya I. (6:15 PM)  
**Oh, it's Midoriya, btw

**Akatsuki R. (6:33 PM)  
**Thnx. Time tmrw?

**Midoriya I. (6:34 PM)  
**How about 8AM? Unless it's too early

**Akatsuki R. (6:36 PM)  
**I work until 8ish. 8:30?

**Midoriya I. (6:36 PM)  
**Sure! Sounds good

**Midoriya I. (6:36 PM)  
**See you tomorrow!

**Akatsuki R. (6:40 PM)  
**See u tmrw

* * *

"You seem like you're in a good mood today."

Taking the pastries out of the oven, Rei carefully slid them onto cooling racks, working quickly but carefully as she balanced the trays. She hummed thoughtfully, closing the oven as soon as she was done. "I'm meeting a friend today."

"A friend?" The woman stopped decorating the small cookies, staring in surprise for a moment at the quiet girl that worked for her. "Good for you."

"We're training today."

"Ah, getting ready for that sports festival, aren't you?"

Mamaru Nano was a sharp woman that knew everything about Rei, all the way down to knowing just what she meant when she blinked slowly in response to almost everything. Rei almost wondered what the woman had seen in Rei to give her a job, as desolate and cunning as Rei tended to look to adults. What trustworthy aspects had she seen, when Rei hadn't even known they existed within herself? Even as Mamaru returned to decorating the cookies, it was clear that she had a smile on her face even with her back turned. "I'm glad that you're doing well, Akatsuki-chan."

With the shift almost over, Rei turned to begin washing dishes. Filling the compartments with hot water, she tugged on a pair of rubber gloves as she began her work. "Yeah. It's going good."

"Have you heard any more news about Fujioka-san?"

If she had been holding onto any dishes, they would have slipped from her fingers. Rei jolted at the mention of the familiar name, freezing for a moment as anxiety and sadness began to burble. Hanging her head, she lowered her voice. "No."

The older woman hummed in response, maneuvering around the multiple trays and the busy walkways as she flipped through to check on another cooling rack. "I'm sure she'll be fine. That girl always seems to pull through." Rei had no response, just continued to wash the various kitchen equipment meticulously and quickly. Scrubbing with vigor, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. She could only hope Mamaru was right.

Dish washing always meant that the shift was nearly over, and it was just reaching eight o'clock when Rei finished the task. Removing the apron and hanging it on a hook, she began cleaning up the rest of the counters. Mamaru appeared around the corner with a tub filled with fresh pastries that had just finished cooling, pausing in front of Rei and gesturing for her to take one. "Go ahead and leave. I'll finish cleaning up here."

Rei blinked in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"You're training with a friend right? Don't want to keep them waiting."

Mamaru always knew, somehow. She had the perfect timing, from knowing when things were finishing in the oven to knowing just how to usher a person along. Plucking a chocolate croissant, from the top, Rei waved her hand as she bit into the delicacy. "Thanks, Mamaru-san." She only received a wave in response as the woman hurried out to the front of the store to set up the display, leaving her to her own business. Glancing at the clock one more time, Rei noted that it was eight o'clock on the dot.

It was time to get a move on with the rest of her day.

* * *

Midoriya had been waiting at the bottom of his apartment, waving Rei over as she approached quickly. Rei hadn't much of an idea what the boy had in mind for the day, but she did have an expectation that he would have an outline. This was Midoriya they were talking about; he had multiple plans with detailed subheadings and bullet points with backups to spare. Meticulous was probably a good middle name for him. And he didn't disappoint, immediately launching into the logistics he had planned out for the day as Rei listened in interest and amusement as his bright energy and enthusiasm. Perhaps picking him for a partner would have more perks that she originally thought; training with someone as motivated as him would definitely pick her spirits up, and she quickly found herself looking forward to the day even more as they began their jog to the beach.

The warm up had been intense. Rei was able to keep up with almost everything, but even she found herself pushed when it came to more of the strength training. Doing push ups with Midoriya only proved how much of a beast he was when it came to strength; Rei was certainly a bit disadvantaged as a girl, but she couldn't help but be impressed with the boy's raw power. It seemed to serve as a reminder that Rei was more speed and stamina based, her torso and core providing strong backup for her legs. She wasn't weak in her arms, but in a fight against almost every boy in their grade she would be at a disadvantage for sure. She would have to rely on her two strengths in order to avoid entering an all out fist fight, that was for sure.

After nearly an hour the two took a small break, drinking water and watching the light dance on the water. Both had broken a sweat, certainly warmed up and ready for the rest of the day. Rei looked at Midoriya after taking another guzzle of water, breathing finally calmed. "So, fighting?"

He nodded determinedly, standing up and offering a hand to Rei. Accepting it gratefully she let him pull her up, watching as he began to formulate his ideas. "I was hoping that you'd be able to help me with that. I think we have similar styles, since I tend to hold back and avoid fighting unless I know how to predict their moves and get around them."

Crossing her arms, Rei nodded. "Right. I've noticed that in class."

"So, where did you learn how to fight?"

Rei blinked in surprise. "Me?" Tilting her head, she thought about the question for a moment. "I guess I've been fighting since grade school. A lot of bullies usually came after me, so I figured out how to fight from them."

"Eh, really?" Midoriya looked surprised, eyes wide at the revelation. "But, why would people want to fight you?"

Tensing for a moment, Rei shook her head. "It's a long story. But I'll admit, I wasn't always letting trouble come look for me. I started a lot of fights too."

"I see." He raised a hand to his chin, thinking for a moment before slowly speaking, as though still pulling together his thoughts. "Then, if you're a strong fighter, why don't you go on the offensive more often? In the first battle training, you opted to sneak through the vents instead of fighting the other team head on, and instead had your team put up a front. In fact, most of the time you try to go around the enemy and spring a surprise, or take them down some other way."

He began muttering once again, a trait that Rei was quickly getting used to. It was rather enlightening for her to hear his inner dialogue out loud, letting her immediately know just what exactly he was thinking and what sort of jumps his mind was making. She was content to simply listen and watch where he brain took him. But he was onto something, and Rei found herself divulging even more information. "To be honest, I'd rather take someone down without wasting my own strength. I'm not the strongest person, and I'm certain there are others who are much stronger than me. Why waste my energy if I can think around them?"

Looking up at his training partner, it seemed as though he had a lightbulb moment, face brightening. "I see. You use the terrain to your advantage."

Rei nodded in affirmation. "But that's also a problem, going into the sports festival. Chances are that they'll limits what resources we're given in order to make things fair. We'll be relying on our quirks and little else." Gold eyes narrowed in determination. "That's why I need to practice fighting in combat. It'll definitely come down to some sort of one-on-one battle, should we make it that far. I'm sure you could use some pointers too."

It looked as though Midoriya understood every word of what she said, his face morphing to match hers. "Right. Then, let's fight."

Walking away to create more space between them, Rei watched cautiously as Midoriya slid into a stance, keeping his green eyes trained on her in equal caution. Sliding her right foot back behind her, Rei readied herself, muscles almost twitching in anticipation. "Start whenever you're ready," she called out.

"E-eh?" Midoriya stuttered, eyes wide. "Me?"

Rei nodded sharply. "You wait for the enemy to come to you, predicting their moves and watching for the first swing. Try something new."

He thought for a moment, Rei waiting patiently as he thought things through. After a few seconds he finally burst forward, leaping up in the air at the final second to come in from above. Rei rolled to the left, picking herself up quickly as Midoriya recovered from delivering his blow, picking his hand up from the sand and pivoting quickly to pursue his target. Entering a series of punches and kicks Rei quickly and narrowly dodged most of them, blocking a few others whenever she was unable to move. She had to admit that he was fast, for the most part transitioning through moves with success. But there were holes in his movements too, and Rei watched him carefully.

Coming in for a right jab, Rei braced herself to block the incoming move. But much to her surprise it was his left hand that snuck in for the full punch, knocking her to the side and sending her into the ground. Rolling over backwards she bounced back to her feet with a grunt, surprised as his deception. She grinned. "That was a good one."

Midoriya smiled back, breaking from his stance. "You're seriously fast, Akatsuki."

"Speed is one of the things I have going for me," she countered, brushing herself off. Walking away and creating space between them once again, Rei began to prepare for the next fight. "You have strength on your side. Place your hits right, and it doesn't matter how fast the enemy is."

Accepting the compliment, Midoriya raised his fists again. "Come at me, then."

Never one to back down from the challenge, Rei smirked. "If you insist."

Without hesitating she charged forward, almost a blur to Midoriya's eyes. Instinctively he swung a fist forward to meet her head on, but she slid like a baseball player onto home plate, sinking beneath his upper body and completely going past him. His eyes widened, but it was too late to correct his mistake. A pair of hands latched onto his ankle, pulling his weight out from underneath him and sending him face first into the sand. He had absolutely no time to react; the moment he tried to get up Rei had already seized the moment, a knee digging into his back and hands on his elbow and head, completely restraining him. She held him in place for a moment before relaxing, allowing him to crouch over and spit the sand from his mouth.

"Any regrets yet?"

With one final cough, Midoriya turned his head around to look at the victor, wiping his mouth clean. "Not a single one."

"Good." Rei extended a hand to the boy, pulling him up from the ground with a small smile on her lips. "Remember, if your opponent is faster than you, they'll try to circumvent you and attack you from a different angle. Normally your attack would have worked if someone believed that they were as strong or stronger than you and relied on upfront attacks. It was a good instinct."

Shaking their encounter off, Midoriya smiled. "I never thought of it that way before. It makes a lot of sense though."

Rei nodded solemnly, increasing the distance between them once again. "You tend to focus on punching. Remember that your legs exist too."

"Right."

"Ready?"

"Yes!"

* * *

By the time the sun was setting, Rei was bruised, exhausted, and had sand everywhere imaginable. How did it manage to get in her belly button, when she was wearing a tight tank top? But it mattered little in the end, as the two of them sat breathlessly on the beach, battered and weary but still enthusiastic.

Midoriya was a powerhouse that knew no end. It wasn't that his stamina was insanely big, but more of a mentality that he carried. He understood the fact that time was precious, and that every second and every blow counted in the long run. Even when Rei was certain that she was almost spent, his energy overflowed into her soul, encouraging her to go for just a little longer, all the way until the sun was setting and the time had flown by. Sitting on the packed down sand, Rei watched the orange sky reflect on the dark waters, a sense of peace settling over them.

"Oh." Rei turned toward Midoriya, who was looking at his phone in surprise. "My mom wants to know if you'd like to stay for dinner."

Rei blinked once, then twice. "Is… that really okay?"

An enthusiastic nod accompanied a brilliant smile as green eyes met gold. "Yeah! We're having katsu-don, if you'd like. I mean," he backtracked a bit, waving his hands around panickedly, "you don't have to!"

Dinner at someone else's house? It wasn't like anyone expected Rei to be back at any point during the day, and she had nothing better to do. She nodded her head once. "Then, if it's alright with you…"

He didn't even let her finish, jumping up from his seat. "Yes! Let's head home now!"

An endless bundle of energy. A rabbit? A puppy, definitely. Picking up their belongings and shaking out their clothes, he rattled on about how good his mom's katsu-don was, even making Rei excited in anticipation for the meal. She wasn't a picky eater, but always knew that food tasted better when she didn't have to make it. At least, that was what she thought. Midoriya kept the conversation up most of the way back, reminding Rei of Yaoyorozu and their walks to the station. It brought a bit of warmth to her heart as she watched the green haired boy excitedly gesture around himself. _I made another friend_.

But there was something that had been weighing on her mind for most of the day, and she knew she had to address it before they made it back. They were almost back to the base of Midoriya's apartment when Rei broke.

"Midoriya, why does Bakugou hate you?"

The boy physically jolted, freezing for a moment at the absolute bluntness of Rei's question. She watched him carefully as his face dropped almost instantly, a nervousness coming back to his persona. "Bakugou… is really strong. I've known him since we were kids. He was always the one leading the neighborhood pack, and when he got his quirk he was…"

"An asshole?"

Midoriya panicked, gesturing wildly as his eyes went comically wide. "Ah, no! I mean, that's to say, Bakugou was just, ah-"

Rei crossed her arms, not believing him for a moment. Her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized her friend, daring him to deny her words. "He's been a jerk to you, all this time, hasn't he?"

Heaving a small but heavy sigh, Midoriya looked at the ground. "I've always been in his way, since I was pretty useless. He wanted to be the first kid from our junior high to make it into U.A., but I ruined that for him too. Still, he's always been Kacchan, and I've always looked up to him. He's so strong, and cool."

Once he started, there was no turning back. Midoriya began talking about their times growing up, all the way to when his fiery friend had been trapped by that smile villain. Rei vaguely remembered seeing something about that, but she kept quiet the entire time, simply listening to Midoriya talk. Even through the pain his eyes shone in the late afternoon light, a glimmer of hope and admiration that was shining through even the strongest adversity, and Rei could help but be impressed by this boy's loyalty and hopefulness. He was light in the darkness, the optimism in the most daunting circumstances.

Everything began to fall into place. It was walking in that amber afternoon that Rei began to see the big picture, the one relationship in their class that had vexed her the most. She saw Midoriya's pain that he tried to hide, the competition and rivalry he felt for his childhood friend, the drive that pushed him forward to become the absolute best he could be. She felt his energy, his heart as it touched her own. She realized just why Bakugou was so pent up, so aggressive all the time.

Both of them were fighting to be someone, to stand out, and their lights were so bright that Bakugou was desperately pushing Midoriya away in order to stay ahead.

Midoriya still couldn't control his quirk, which placed him years behind his peers. But when it came to overall improvement his was exponential, surpassing everyone else in terms of gains. He was rising quickly, and everyone knew it, especially Bakugou. The boy who had vowed to become the number one hero saw the competition, and sought to push it down as soon as he could.

Rei understood. She understood the fight, the constant struggle. It was why she found that she admired both of them, their different approaches. They were trying to find their place in the world.

At the end of the day, wasn't that what everyone wanted?

But all thoughts had to come to a pause as the two of them entered Midoriya's apartment. "We're home!" Just as Midoriya was kicking his shoes off, his mother rounded the corner with a gentle smile on her face.

"Welcome home," she announced happily, taking a look at Rei for the first time. Rei froze instantly, unsure of how to interact with Midoriya's mother. She bowed formally at the waist, a bit stiff, but it worked.

"Thank you for inviting me, Midoriya-san."

"And you must be Akatsuki-san!" Rei lifted her head first, slowly followed by the rest of her body as she stared at the woman for the first time. She was round, but in an endearing way that made her look soft and welcoming. The similarities between her and her son didn't seem to stop, even in the way that she smiled as she continued to stir something in a pot in her hands. "Izuku has been talking about you non-stop since yesterday."

"Mom…"

Rei simply stood in the doorway, shocked into silence. Midoriya had been talking about her to his mother? "Call me Inko, Akatsuki. It's easier to differentiate the two of us."

Shaking herself from her stupor, Rei bowed again. "Thank you, Inko-san."

"Dinner will be ready soon. Izuku, why don't you show Akatsuki to your room?"

"Ehh?! But-"

His mother simply turned away, busying herself in the kitchen again. Rei rushed to untie her shoelaces awkwardly, ripping her feet out as quickly as possible. She had stood there, like an idiot, for much too long for her liking. She tried to scrape as much sand off her ankles as possible, a bit sheepish that she was tracking so much sand into the house.

Thankfully, Midoriya noticed. "Ah, I can get a towel for you to clean yourself off. I know there's sand everywhere, so…" He trailed off again, muttering something or another that Rei could no longer hear. When he came back she accepted the towel gratefully, stepping into the bathroom to clean herself off.

Sand. Everywhere. She resisted the urge to just jump into the shower and scrub her hair and skin clean, instead moistening a part of the towel and rubbing herself down as best as possible. They hadn't been the most careful during their dueling, as sand was literally everywhere. In her shorts, in her tank top, in her hair; Rei grimaced as she did her best to shake off as much as possible. The ordeal almost took a full five minutes, but she was at least confident that she wouldn't be leaking sand everywhere in the house.

Stepping out of the bathroom, she headed across the hall to Izuku's door. It was clearly marked with an All Might themed door decorator, which should have been a warning sign for Rei for what lay inside. Knocking gently on his door, she waited for his answer to come in before opening the door slowly, peering inside.

Her eyes widened.

There was All Might memorabilia covering every free surface. The walls were slathered with posters, various figurines and statues lining the shelves and even on his desk. Everything was themed in his traditional red, blue, and yellow. If anything, it was impressive to see just how dedicated her friend was to the set up; how had he found all these thing? Entering the room more freely, she openly stared around the space.

Midoriya was rummaging through his drawers, pulling out a clean set of clothes. "I'll… be back! Just gonna change!" He panickedly left the room in a rush, slamming himself into the bathroom. Rei only blinked slowly at his sudden leave. Was something wrong?

After overcoming her surprise, she began to inspect the room more closely. There were a few newer posters, but most of them seemed to be years old. Even so, they were carefully maintained, with only a few frayed edges at the corners from where they had been delicately removed and restuck. Outlining the various ages of heroes, they painted a vivid image of just where the pro hero had been with his branding and look, an impressive collection that Rei had never considered before. She moved on to the figurines, not daring to touch them for fear of ruining something. Like the posters they were almost all in pristine condition, save for a few that had seen some obvious wear and tear. They were likely from Midoriya's childhood, beloved toys that saw everyday adventures. It left a warm feeling in her chest to see his obviously secret pride and joy.

She hadn't realized how long she had been looking at everything until Midoriya came back into the room, refreshed and changed out of his sandy workout clothes. He stood sheepishly at the door, chuckling nervously as he watched Rei surveying his room. "It's a lot from all these years."

"It's really neat." Pointing at a particularly intricate and ornate figurine, she looked to Midoriya. "Where did you get this one?"

"Oh, that one?" He stepped a bit closer, looking at it fondly even as he threw his towel to the side. "My mom got that for me a few years ago. It was a limited edition item that only sold about five hundred models."

"Incredible." Rei blinked, turning back to Midoriya. "You really admire All Might, don't you?"

He laughed sheepishly again, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah. He was my biggest hero growing up. I was super obsessed."

"I can tell."

He had opened his mouth to say something before the two of them heard his mother calling from the other side of the apartment. "Izuku! Dinner!"

The two of them made their way to the door, Midoriya leading the way. He seemed less self conscious about his room now that Rei had seen it and had not laughed, leading the way and talking about something All Might had said during one of their class sessions. Rei only followed along, giving short, pithy answers that filled the spaces. All the while, Rei mused on the details she had seen in Midoriya's room.

Dinner was a surprisingly comfortable affair. The talk was light hearted and enjoyable, with Midoriya and his mother supplying most of the conversation. Rei only had to insert herself a few times, though she found that she was rather engaged in the whole process. She listened to stories his mother told, poking a bit of fun at Midoriya at his embarrassed reaction whenever she could. It was rather enjoyable, and with good food to share. Rei was stuffed by the time she finished, convinced that she would need to roll down the stairs in order to get to the street.

Midoriya had offered to walk her back to the station, which she accepted gratefully. The two of them had started up a conversation about the sports festival and their classmates, mostly dominated by Midoriya as he explain the various things he had observed about the others in their class. Rei listened quietly, occasionally asking questions or giving various commentary to show her interest. Before she knew it, they had reached the station, and said their goodbyes.

"Thanks for agreeing to train with me. You didn't have to."

At this Midoriya seemed to get a little flustered again, although he seemed to be overall more relaxed in Rei's presence than before. "No, this was great! I learned a lot from you today."

"Good." Stepping away, she gave a small wave before beginning to turn around and walk through the train station.

"Akatsuki-san!"

Turning around in curiosity and confusion, Rei blinked slowly at Midoriya, showing that he had her attention. He seemed a bit of unsure of what he was about to say, face screwing up as he stared at the ground for a moment before lifting his head.

"You're a good friend, you know? So, keep smiling."

Rei was caught off guard. Midoriya flushed, waving as he turned away quickly, striding out of the station and into the night. For a moment she simply stood there, watching the green haired boy bolting into the distance, surprise on her face. To hear him say that she was a friend was more than she had ever expected, and so quickly. He was so fast to trust, so willing to call someone his friend.

It was enough to pull the corners of her mouth up gently.

* * *

By the time she got home, almost everyone was in their rooms. The hallway was quiet as she made her way into the house, removing her shoes and slipping up the staircase as smoothly and silently as possible. With her quirk it was easy to do, naturally blending in with the shadows and skulking around the creaky spots in the floorboards until she came to her room near the end of the hall.

Compared to Midoriya's room, her room was quite plain. After the staff had found out that Rei had been accepted into U.A. they had given her her own room, claiming that a busy high school student like her needed her space. It was thoughtful, and she certainly appreciated not having a roommate for the first time that she could remember, but there were no personal touches, unlike Midoriya's room. The plain eggshell walls were cracked in some places, the plain gray comforter and bed set the only splash of color in her room aside from the old wooden desk and chair, if it was even possible to call that color. For the first time ever she yearned to make the room more her own, reminiscing on the bright, All Might themed decoration that Midoriya had plastered on every surface.

But at the same time, that took effort. She wondered if she would ever get around to decorating her room. After all, she spent little time in the space, preferring to study in the dining or living room most times so that she could help look after the other small kids. If she wasn't studying she was running around town, usually training herself and leaping through trees and rooftops. What little time was spent in this room was either in late night cramming or sleeping.

Filled with nostalgia, sat down at her desk, pulling open one of the side drawers and sifting through the contents. It was rather shallow, situated in the middle between the top and the bulkier, larger drawer on the bottom where many of her school supplies were stored. Inside the drawer in question she allowed her fingers to trace over a conglomerations of various pieces of junk; a few rocks collected from the bottom of the canal, some trinkets and talismans from various fairs and festivals growing up, a get well card from when she had gotten sick as a child. A couple hair pieces that she hadn't been able to let go of yet, something that the workers at the orphanage had given to her after Haru had passed and her belongings cleared out.

Slender fingers drifted over the colorful hair pieces, brilliant fake sunflowers that seemed real enough and made of a surprisingly high quality. Rei picked them up from the drawer, turning them delicately in her hands before sliding them back into their place among the other trinkets. Her favorite things were nothing like the figurines and toys that Midoriya had lining his shelves, the coordination that dictated him room of a stunning palette that somehow worked even amongst its own chaos. All her treasures were kept here in a single, thin, drawer, of a small enough number and size that it didn't make any sense to openly and proudly display them. They meant nothing to other people, probably easily mistakable for trash if anyone else saw.

But perhaps that was the magic of it all; something that Rei found significant, even in the most mundane objects. Still the comparison lingered, and a dull ache lingered in her chest. Midoriya was so blessed, such a good person, that she could never begrudge him what fortune he already had. His life wasn't perfect, but for the first time in a while Rei found herself to be jealous of her classmate's life. What was it like, living in his shoes?

The room was cold, even in late spring, and finally Rei began to move and hurry around the space much quicker as she gathered her belongings in order to shower. Reflecting on the state of her room only made her more sad, and she didn't need that. She needed to focus forward, to get ready for the sports festival.

When would she ever take the time to stop and realize that she couldn't run forever?

* * *

The next day during the hero class, Rei found herself running through the trees. She had to take a break from running through such an urban landscape and focus on something else. They had no idea what sort of environments they would be placed it, so it was in her best interest to brush up on her skills evenly. At least, that was what she told herself. She was mostly avoiding throwing herself from the next tallest building in order to skip the nasty feeling it left in her legs and her spine.

It was fine. She deserved a break from that anyway. It was a good excuse to practice other things and get away from that bone numbing feeling. Literally.

Sailing through the treetops was something she hadn't done in a while, reminding her of how difficult it truly was. Branches were not flat surfaces upon which Rei could rely. They bounced and swayed, and she had to focus on landing on them precisely so that she wouldn't slip or fall in either direction. She had already messed up a couple times, and had vowed to watch her step more carefully so that she wouldn't end up falling flat on her ass again or knocking the wind out of her. There was no one to blame but herself for her own mistakes, and she found it rather tedious to spend half the time muttering obscenities based on her miscalculations. She just had to focus down and be better.

It was a beautiful day to be outside, a breeze blowing just slightly enough to keep her cool as she leapt from branch to branch as quickly as possible while keeping her focus. Occasionally she would switch it up by swinging on her hands, flying around like a gymnast as she practiced keeping her head on her shoulders with all the twisting and turning. Leaping into the air and turning often kept one's enemies uncertain of their direction, but it could cost one's balance and cardinality.

Fortunately, both were difficult to lose for Rei. She had been doing gauntlets like this since she discovered her quirk. Faster and faster she pushed herself through the grove of trees, a small smile on her face even as she found herself breathless, sweat pouring down her forehead-

_BOOM_

The force was enough to make her stumble, pushing her off one of the higher branches and sending her falling forward. Rei cried out in shock, but managed to snag a more solid branch, nails instinctively coming further out of her hands to dig into the bark. For a moment she simply dangled in space, breathing hard as she tried to figure out what had just happened. Obviously an explosion meant that a certain explosive boy was close by, but Rei was certain that she was avoiding most people-

"Oi, the hell are you doing here?"

Shit. Peering down at the ground, golden eyes met irritated red as Bakugou crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation. With a grumble Rei dropped to the ground, landing a few feet in front of the peeved boy. She rolled her eyes as she took the opportunity to stretch her limbs out, grabbing her feet one at a time as she stretched her quad muscles. "Didn't think I was getting close to anyone. My bad."

He stared suspiciously at Rei, but she only sent a blank look back. Suddenly, she was taken aback by the background behind her classmate as she began to look beyond him, finally taking in the scenery. Or rather, what sections were left of it. The destructive damage hadn't been as large as she had thought it would have been, instead a rather narrow area that stood quite a few meters away. Eyes flickering back and forth between Bakugou and the backdrop, she suddenly put two and two together. "You're trying to propel yourself forward, aren't you?"

"Shut up," he bit out, marching away. "'The hell you know?" But it became apparent as he walked a small distance away, crouching down and extending his arms behind him. Rei watched as he exploded high into the air, forcing her to cover her face from the force briefly before watching his lofty arc. He landed a considerable distance away, but further cursing was an indicator that it hadn't gone exactly how he had desired.

Slowly, she made her way over to where he had landed. His back was turned toward her, but he snapped around as soon as he heard her footsteps padding over to him, an angry look on his face. "The hell you want? Go away!"

"Crouch again." Bakugou raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but Rei leveled him with an exasperated look this time, gesturing for him to ready himself. Slowly he sank into a crouch, extending his hands behind him as he stared forward moodily, grumbling under his breath. Rei walked around him once, looking at his posture even as he looked ready to snap. He opened his mouth, but Rei was faster. "You're not going as far as you want, are you?"

Surprise painted his face. He startled at having been read so easily, but Rei made no comment, instead walking up next to him and extending her arms behind her. "Your angle is too low. Right now you're setting yourself up for nearly sixty degrees into the air. It'll feel uncomfortable, but raise your arms up like this," she demonstrated, arms screaming in protest from stiff muscles. But Bakugou followed, lining up his arms and giving a shout as he burst into the air. Rei watched with ringing ears as his peak was lowered, but he sailed further through the air, passing over the previous spot where he had been two tries previous. A smile was on her lips as she watched him stare at his hands in surprise, turning to look at the distance he had traversed.

Turning back, Rei began to walk away. There was nothing more for her to do. Bakugou certainly wasn't going to wait around to say a thank you, not like she had expected anything from him. Content that she had done her good deed for the day, she slowly began to head into the forest, continuing to stretch her arms out and roll her shoulders back. It was time to get back to business.

Another explosion sounded in the distance as Rei settled into a crouch of her own, readying to take off into the trees. But just before she could take off, she heard something fast approaching.

"Oi! Move!"

So surprised by the voice she only had time to turn around, her brain barely even registering the fact that someone was flying in her direction. In the time it took for her to blink a body collided with her own, knocking her into the ground with spectacular force.

She had closed her eyes, but she knew that something was wrong. She should have hit the dirt, but instead she landed on something else. It was barely any softer, but warm. Breathing in relief, she lifted herself up from the ground only to stare into bright red eyes.

Rei's mind froze. So did her body.

She didn't mean to freeze, lingering in their position. But neither could she find the courage to move, so shocked and surprise that she stayed there, hovering above Bakugou's body. Eyes locked together, Rei felt her breath catch in her chest, refusing to leave.

"Get off."

His voice was strangely soft, but it broke Rei from her stupor, quickly pulling herself up and dusting herself off. For some reason Rei found it impossible to meet his eyes, instead looking into the forest, anywhere except those red orbs. Hands messing with her hair, she built up the courage to cast a glance at her classmate, almost freezing again as she caught him staring in her direction. Sputtering awkwardly and fidgeting with her hands, she instead stalked off into the forest, hopping twice before blasting high into the trees.

What was that? It had been so fast, she hadn't realized that he had tucked himself under her body before they had even hit the ground. And she had stared at him like an idiot, freezing on top of him. What was wrong with her? It wasn't like she had any reason to stay on top of his muscular body, gazing into those gorgeous red eyes-

Oh.

She could feel her cheeks flushing.

She did the only thing she knew how to do in this situation.

She screamed.

"AAAGH! SHIT!"

* * *

**(bonus)**

It had been his fault completely, though he would never admit it. Akatsuki's comment had made sense, and even though he was certain that he would have eventually figured it out, it saved him a load of time in the long run. After the first burst forward using her correction he had been excited to have finally gotten the trick down. But what would happen if he stuck his arms further up? Turning around quickly, he blasted off again into the air. It was even lower than before, but it had propelled him even further forward, faster than ever.

That was when he realized his mistake. Akatsuki hadn't moved far from her original spot, and his over correction had his trajectory aimed directly at her. The further he fell the more it was confirmed, and at the last second he had yelled for her to move.

"Oi! Move!"

But it was too late. He was flying too fast through the air. She had looked up in shock at the last moment, golden eyes widening before shutting tight as she raised her hands to brace herself for the inevitable. Colliding into her he wrapped his arms tightly around her frame, pressing her close to his chest as he flipped around. It was barely in time, his shoulder clipping the ground painfully since he was unable to fully finish his rotation. A groan slid from his mouth instinctively from the collision. But the girl in his arms noticed nothing even as they slid to a halt, her hands on his chest.

Breathing hard, he only watched as she lifted herself from his chest, slowly becoming aware of her exact surroundings. When her golden eyes had opened and locked with his he had sucked in a breath sharply, watching her eyes go wide with innocence and panic as she froze. Like a deer in the headlights she had simply stood there, propped up above his body, unsure of what to do, golden eyes wide and round.

He wasn't sure if she was going to get off herself, looking so frozen and motionless that she could have been a statue. So it was him who prodded her to move. "Get off." He had spoken quietly to try and avoid spooking her further, but she had jerked to life and sprung up from his position, staring into the forest and fixing her hair. Standing up and brushing himself off, he watched as she unstealthily snuck another glance at him, pursing and licking her lips nervously before bounding away into the trees, disappearing from sight. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he watched as she vanished from his line of view.

If it had been any other person, he would have ripped their ear off. How could they just stand there in his way without moving, so uselessly? But Akatsuki Rei was different. From the first day at U.A. she had been the only person to so fearlessly meet his gaze, deftly dealing with that loud and mechanical Iida with cold fire as those golden eyes ripped into their souls. She had proven herself to be strong, way before they had even begun to watch one anothers battle skills. Even then she had only proven her flexibility and genius from the first day, outsmarting the brainiac vice president of their class with ease, barely batting an eye.

He had convinced himself that she was tolerable, the one person that didn't immediately tick him off and the one person he could grudgingly respect. But he hadn't been prepared to face the fact that she had grown on him, in more ways than just that. He had been caught off guard the day that she had stepped in front of him to verbally fight that purple haired kid from the general studies course, ripping into him and the others that had stood before them. He had watched as the students had parted instantaneously for her to walk through, had watched her slender but strong frame walk away from him with confidence and a deadly aura that held a knife to everyone's throat as she stepped past.

And just like that, she had seen through him. The lies and niceties that had built up his fragile ego, vanishing in a moment as she stripped them away. She saw who he was, and she had pointed a finger at him and told him that she believed in him, the real him, that she would support him all the way.

Bakugou wondered how she could see through him, when all he could see were the wall she had put up herself. She was guarded, wearing that blank mask that occasionally alternated for a cocky smirk, a look of exasperation, or the deathly seriousness that most everyone now knew her by. Only recently had she begun to show more life, making friends with miss perfection, of all people, and even talking with Midoriya. The thought made his blood boil. How could she talk with such a lowlife?

But for a moment all those thoughts had vanished as he stared up into golden eyes. She was unguarded for the first time Bakugou had ever seen, eyes wide and swirling with a variety and depth of emotions. He was secretly reluctant to tell her to move, but had done so anyway. She was so skittish, unnerved for the first time ever, the first true emotions that he had ever seen beyond that wall that she always kept high. Watching her leap into the trees, he could only stare off into the distance.

He wanted to see more of that side of her. The side that he had managed to pry open, if by accident. It was wild, uncontrolled, and beautiful, and uniquely her. Hands in his pockets, he gradually forced himself to turn away and refocus on training. But he paused for a moment, a voice drifting through the grove to his ears.

"_AAAGH! SHIT!"_

For the first time in a while, a gentle smirk made its way onto his lips.

* * *

AN: lol

Thank you so much for the reviews y'all. I'm working hard to write more chapters. To give you an idea of where i'm at, right now I'm deciding how I want to edit chapter 23 and how I want to get into chapter 24. I've got the scaffolding and planning done, but there's a long road to go.

Happy Sunday!


	8. Sports Festival (Part 1)

Chapter 8

* * *

_Two weeks had passed. Every day, after Rei was finished with school and she came home to the orphanage, Reina was there waiting for her at the dining room table, papers and who knew what else spread across the surface. The mess would immediately be cleaned up as soon as Rei arrived, more often than not sulking about the afternoon's activities as she was forced to do two things she despised: homework, and social interactions with a person that was set on having her do her homework and holding her to a high standard. Not that being held to a high standard was a bad thing. Rei just didn't like being told what to do by yet another adult who was set on stepping into her life and taking control. It was like a rock had been placed in her path to trip her up, a distraction and unfortunate, mandatory event that Rei was forced into yet again._

_She tried to focus on the fact that sooner or later, that rock would be gone. Replaced, or even removed completely from the picture, something was bound to happen sooner or later. Perhaps the program would flop, or Reina would finally throw her hands up into the air and give up on her. Maybe another person would come into the picture, another individual that Rei would have to suffer under until they decided to spend their time in another manner. It was inevitable._

_At least, that was what she thought._

"_You seem distracted today, more than usual."_

_Rei slumped in her chair as Reina sat up next to her, placing her pen down and folding her hands on top of the table. "Sorry." _

_She wasn't. The apology slipped from her lips without any intention, merely a placeholder for the space. She was particularly distracted by the date, the two year anniversary of Haru's passing. For the entire day she had been unable to focus, the day passing by in a blur of sounds that didn't make sense. Her mind was miles away, and there was no motivation to pull herself back into reality._

_Shuffling the papers in front of her, Reina pushed a pair of glasses further up her nose. It was irritating how, even with glasses and casual clothes, she still looked every bit of a model. Perfection, in everything she did. Flawless. It didn't help that she always had the answers to every question that Rei could bring up regarding classwork or anything on her mind. She was a walking, talking, encyclopedia, or search engine. How was it even possible? _

_With a small sigh, Reina tapped her pen on the notes in front of Rei, signaling that there was more work to be done. "We should really get this finished. That way-"_

"_What's the point?!" Rei was unable to contain her frustration any longer, voice raising slightly in agitation as she cut the older girl off. She had been holding back all this time. Even so, she refused to make eye contact with Reina, instead dropping her head low as her hands clenched in her lap. "It doesn't matter. I just have to pass so that I can get out of here."_

"_Get out of here?"_

_Rei shifted, unwilling to talk anymore. The older girl didn't know. She didn't need to know the reality of those in the orphanage. She was from another world, where she could become anything she wanted to be, dream any pretty dream in peace. Silence fell upon the two, Reina awkwardly shifting as she tried to think of what to do. Second passed like hours, the ticking of the clock the only constant in the space. Outside the shouting of the younger children at play could be heard, muffled by the thin walls as they ran and romped around. _

"_Let's try something different today, then." _

_Raising an eyebrow lazily, Rei looked at Reina. Much to her surprise there was an energetic and mischievous look that she wore, completely foreign to the typical stoicism and niceties that she had always performed. For the first time her face showed something other than the ridiculous mask of performative happiness, grabbing Rei's attention. Her interest finally piqued, she raised her head warily, as though uncertain of what was about to happen. But curiosity won over. She would bite. _

_Nodding her head, she followed Reina as the woman stood from her chair, grabbing her purse from the seat next to her and walking out the room. "Come on, let's go somewhere! My treat!"_

* * *

_The treat ended up being to the corner store a few blocks away to pick up ice cream. Rei had grabbed a melon bar, Reina selecting something with a chocolate shell. The two had walked out in companionable silence for what seemed to be the first time, the awkward stiltedness between them fading for just a moment. The elder began leading her further away from the orphanage, all the way to a small park where they sat down on a bench. The weather was warm, forcing Rei to continually watch her popsicle stick to make sure that it wasn't about to drip down her fingers. She hated it when her fingers got sticky._

_For a while they simply sat there, eating their chosen snacks. Then Reina broke the silence. "When I was in college, I met this incredible girl. She was ridiculously smart, but she was always by herself. One day, I decided to offer to go to a cafe with her, just to be nice." _

_Even though Rei had been distracted for the entire day, she felt some of the fogginess begin to dissipate as she listened to the story. "She ended up becoming my best friend. I learned that she had grown up in an orphanage outside of Tokyo. She told me about how terrible her experience was, how she wished that she had someone to help her along the way. We ended joining a tutoring program based out of Tokyo together. My parents were mad," she mused, chuckling a little bit, "but I knew what I wanted to do." Warm brown eyes looked to Rei. "That's why I'm here. My friend was placed at a different location, but I know she's doing the exact same thing as me. We want to make change, even if it's a little bit at a time." _

"_Making change?" Rei licked absentmindedly at her popsicle. "Why not become a hero?"_

_The air changed a bit, Reina looking down as her eyes glazed over, a blank smile on her lips, though it was obviously plastered on with difficulty. "My parents had hoped for that. That was the reason why they married. But I was born quirkless. That's why," she turned back to Rei, a genuine smile now on her face, "I decided to start small. Being a hero doesn't mean fighting crime on the streets, or becoming a public face. It's the little things we do to help others to fight injustice in the world." _

_Musing over her words, Rei finished her popsicle, staring off into space. Perhaps she had been wrong about Reina. But something still bothered her._

"_Are you going to leave?" Reina blinked at the suddenness, the strange nature of the young girl's question, but golden eyes blazed, shimmering with something almost akin to tears. "Everyone leaves eventually. I just…"_

_She didn't want to get her hopes up. But as she waited for an answer she found that the hope in her chest had been watered, the roots beginning to take place. Reina placed a hand on her shoulder, a brilliant smile._

"_I'll stay for however long you want me to. I promise."_

* * *

"I promise… That I'll be number one."

Boos filled the arena as all the first years jeered at Bakugou on the stage. Most of 1-A began to panic, realizing that their classmate had just painted a target over all their backs. Various shouting was aimed at the blonde as he descended the staircase with a neutral expression, almost looking bored and done with everything. Everything descended into chaos, the stadium filling with noise from every angle. The crowd, the participants, and surely those watching in their own homes were reacting in their own ways. Confusion, laughter, anger; it was a sweltering crest of emotion that rained down upon the first years, and one person stood at the center of it all.

Rei simply stood with her arms folded across her chest, eyes locked with the boy who descended into the madding crowd. Not once did they break eye contact, even as Bakugou brushed past the people that stood in his way, hands shoved in his pockets. But now, his shoulders were pulled back, no longer slouching in the casual manner in which he normally held himself. Looks could be deceiving, but Rei saw through it all.

"_Bakugou, about yesterday…"_

_The blonde boy silently sighed to himself, though Rei saw his shoulders heave. She had rushed out at the end of the day to chase after him, managing to catch up with him in the open courtyard. He stopped in his tracks, only turning his head partially so that Rei could barely see his one eyes staring back at her. _

_For a moment she lost her courage. Looking to the ground, she scowled, trying to pull her wits about her. It was nothing. It was an accident. It wouldn't happen again. _

"_Thank you."_

_He raised an eyebrow, turning around a bit more to look at her fully. Rei had been looking at the ground, but she pulled herself together, finding the courage to look him in the eye. It was the truth. She was thankful. He didn't have to shelter her from the landing; he could have just collided into her or pushed her to the ground in order to save himself. If anything, she was almost certain he would have done one of those things and proceeded to have yelled at her for getting in the way. But he had only looked at her with those radiant red eyes, staring at her in a way that started to get under her skin. _

_It was the same way that he was looking at her now. It unnerved her, sending a shiver up her spine, but she refused to give in and look away. She wouldn't back down; that was who she was. Seeing her resolution, he simply clicked his tongue, turning away. "Just don't get in my way." _

_Rei breathed a sigh of relief. All was forgiven. Even as he began to walk away, she called after him quietly. "I promised, didn't I?"_

_His steps faltered for a moment, but he otherwise didn't break his stride. Waving a dismissive hand over his shoulder he disappeared down the steps, out of view. _

Walking toward her now, she could see the determination, the rawness in his attitude. He strode over to stand next to her, turning his body and eyes around as he trained his focus on Midnight as she began to explain the rules and regulations. Neither looked at one another, maintaining the illusion that they were simply moving on, watching Midnight and taking interest in the explanations. Rei could feel the tension wired in his frame, the weight he pushed away from all the glares they were receiving.

Shifting her weight to be slightly closer to him, Rei murmured under her breath. "Better get ready to back it up, hero."

He scoffed, but she could hear the lack of bitterness in the noise. Internally, she smiled.

They would make it through.

* * *

"_3… 2… 1… Go!_"

An obstacle course. Rei should have expected something like this, in order to weed a lot of students out of the pack. Something accessible to all the students, but also something that would clearly give an advantage to those in the hero course. It almost seemed juvenile, when the ending of the sports festival would culminate in a battle royal of sorts, but this was just fine for a nice, introductory activity. At least she didn't have to worry about most of her classmates getting in. All that mattered was that she made the cut for the next portion.

From the beginning Rei had held toward the back, keeping with the pace of some of the business students who were more reluctant to join. It was a strategy that she had initially debated, but after seeing how many people had eagerly crowded the front, she knew that things would get hairy quickly. Instead she settled on watching what happened first, then reacting and overtaking those who would get caught. Almost right off the bat her predictions rang true, with traffic almost grinding to halt as a result of the narrow doorway funneling students through slowly. Rei grinned maniacally as she heard the crowded and cramped cries of the students within.

Stupid. Leaping into the air, it was more than easy to find various shoulders to step on. Students cried out in agitation, no one able to see where she was coming from and no one fast enough to snag her ankle to slow her down. Even if there weren't trees and branches here, it was more or less the same strategy; she had to be careful with everyone squirming beneath her, otherwise her ankle would get caught in the mosh pit and she'd be just as trapped as anyone else. She was certain that she would get some attention for this maneuver. It wasn't really civilized or polite to use others' heads and shoulders as literal stepping stones to get to her point, but no one was seriously injured and Rei was arguably using her quirk and size to her advantage. Every so often she muttered apologies under her breath, but she couldn't find it in her heart to hide the evil grin spreading on her lips. These were the assholes that had come to scope out class 1-A, literally beneath her feet now. She would make sure they stayed there.

Up ahead, the air began to chill, a frosty bite channeling through as Rei looked forward. So her classmates had already begun. The closer she got to the front of the group, the less they moved around, making it more than easy to hop from shoulder to shoulder, even as they began to spread out.

It was when she finally emerged from the tunnel that she saw the icy predicament.

That Todoroki didn't know how to hold back, did he?

Or maybe he did. But it was just another obstacle. Rei was quickly running out of shoulders to jump upon, and was faced with the next predicament. Spotting a particularly broad framed boy near the front of the group who was frozen into place, she leapt onto his shoulder, taking a moment to brace herself for her next step.

The boy looked up in confusion and anger. "Watch where you're going!"

Rei grinned. "I am, idiot." Springing up into the air and hurling herself forward, she flew past even more of the competition, landing on the ice and using her momentum to glide forward. But she would run out of speed eventually. Frowning, she swung her hands out, nails extending further and sharper than usual, one of the few times she was actually grateful for retractable nails.

"Damn it, Todoroki," she grimaced as she dug her nails into the icy sheet below her feet. Using her arms as an anchor, she began to run on all four limbs. "Making me devolve to an animal. Disgusting." Rei was more than annoyed that she was forced to run like a four legged friend, forced to lower her status and crawl like an animal. But it was what she had to work with; it was faster than trying to shuffle along like the rest of the students, attempting to remain upright while sliding sketchily along.

Well, she certain could have done that. But she was so greedy for a win, she was ready to resort to anything, even if it meant sacrificing her dignity. She had the potential to be vain when she wanted to be, but this was not one of those moments. All that mattered was a spot in the next round. She could look pretty then.

Thankfully, the stretch of ice didn't last forever. Even with the high number of people who had been halted in their tracks at Todoroki's move, there was still a decent handful of people who had managed to make their way forward without too much of an issue, most of them classmates from 1-A. Of that entire cluster, Rei found herself steadily making progress toward the front, keeping a steady pace but still pushing forward. This was an obstacle race, which meant that the first obstacle would be here somewhere…

It was Mineta, who had used his purple orbs to jump over the ice and sky rocket toward the front of the race, who went down first. Rei naturally slowed her pace slightly, although most of the people around her stopped dead in their tracks at the hulking metal frames that had scooted into position in front of them. Frowning, her mind raced to come up with a plan. She couldn't stop, otherwise her momentum would be lost.

"_Obstacles have shown up suddenly! Starting with the first barrier!"_

Present Mic's voice rang out even from outside the stadium, projecting over the walls so that even the students could hear his commentary. Rei grimaced, but she refused to slow her momentum. If she slowed, it would have been chaotic and embarassing way to grind to a halt. Barriers would have to be crossed at some point, and if she had to face them while she hurtled through the air then that was her choice. She heard Midoriya cry out after her as she bolted past him, ignoring his panic and warning.

She couldn't stop. She had frozen when the villains had appeared back at USJ, but she wouldn't hesitate now. The robots from the entrance exam almost seemed tame now, in comparison to that traumatic event. Even if she instinctively hesitated for a fraction of a second as she took in the obstacles, she continued to clear through the space ahead of her.

Fortunately the three point machines were just as slow as she remembered. Well, they weren't slow, but they certainly weren't as fast as her. Launching herself into the air she dodged the dull metal claws, vaulting through its grip to land briefly on its shoulder before jumping off again. But as she looked forward, her eyes widened in horror.

Three zero-point machines from the entrance exam loomed above, red eyes leering down below at the miniscule students who looked like gnats compared to the metallic monstrosities. Even though she had taken one down during the entrance exam, Rei's blood pumped faster through her veins, the thought of having to take on three of them at once finally making her panic.

But still she pressed on.

Todoroki had already begun to move, ice swirling around him and jutting out explosively, freezing the three bots before Rei had even touched the ground. Golden eyes narrowed, watching as they teetered precariously on their frozen legs as her classmate ran beneath. There wasn't enough time for her to make it; she could see that they were ready to give at any moment, most likely crushing her beneath their weighty frames if she tried. There was a sliver of a chance that she could make it, but the cons outweighed the risk. Fine. If she couldn't go under it…

Landing in a crouch and blasting forward again with all her strength, she aimed for the outstretched hand, jumping on top of the thick fingers and darting up the arm. Already it was starting to tip forward, the incline sharply increasing at an exponential weight. Rei was only halfway up the arm. Gritting her teeth and growling she dug her her nails into the ice, crying out from the painful cold that laced up her arm as she launched herself even further. Ice and bones didn't mix well. The motion had to be repeated a few times, considering the fact that her arms couldn't send her flying as well as her legs could, but she was fortunate enough to reach the shoulder just before the robot began to completely topple forward.

Rei slid down the icy back for a while before finally jumping down to solid ground. She wasn't ready to jump from such a tall height just yet, so she eased down a bit before making her final landing. The ground shattered upon impact, a small divot created from where she landed. Grimacing, she took a moment to shake her legs off while looking behind her, observing the situation.

True to what she had estimated, the collapse of the zero point robots had blocked the way forward, buying her some time. A dust cloud covered her, as a result of the hulking robot colliding into the ground. Covering her mouth and hacking through the dust, she turned away from the carnage, jogging forward at a casual but purposeful pace. If the obstacles were anything like this, she would need to save her strength for what came ahead.

"_Todoroki from Class 1-A! He attacked and defended in one hit! How elegant! Amazing, he's the first one through! It's definitely a little unfair!"_

Rei grimaced, picking up the pace. From what it sounded like, they hadn't addressed her maneuvering yet. Had they been so preoccupied with Todoroki's flashiness that they had completely disregarded her? A bit of her ego felt bruised at the lack of attention, but she pushed through the dust cloud step by step.

"_His actions are logical and strategic."_

_Aizawa-sensei?_

"_As expected of someone who got through on recommendations!"_

"_But he isn't the only one who got through."_

Golden eyes narrowed. So her homeroom teacher had seen. It was at that moment that she finally burst through the dust cloud, coughing and finally inhaling a breath of fresh air. Shaking her head to clear the fog, Rei pushed forward at a purposeful jog, determination in every step.

"_Huh? It looks like Akatsuki also from Class 1-A was able to sneak through as well! That makes two from Class 1-A to get through the first obstacle in record time!" _

Rei glowered, muttering to herself. "I actually went over the damn thing; did no one seriously see that?"

There was no time to question or complain, as the familiar sound of explosions in the distance popped off. Rei didn't even need to look back over her shoulder, already knowing what was coming.

"Oi, Akatsuki! Stop trying to show off and get ahead of yourself!"

Rolling her eyes, Rei maintained her pace. She had enough of a lead where she could comfortably sit for now; even if a few people over took her, she'd still be sitting near the top, at least high enough to clear to the next round. She had no intention of getting too comfortable, her mind constantly working and watching her surroundings, but she had already established a high lead above the pack. Refusing to answer, she simply continued jogging forward, not even flinching at his aggravations.

"_Then let's see how you all react to the next obstacle! If you fall, you're out! If you want to get through, then crawl!" _

Todoroki wasn't so far ahead that Rei couldn't see him, but he wasn't showing any signs of slowing either. Taking the most direct path possible, he instantly began freezing the ropes in between the hunks of land, sliding along them casually. Rei sighed, heading for the next closest route. "You just had to make things more difficult, didn't you?"

"_It looks like Bakugou from Class 1-A has advanced into second place! He flew over the entire second obstacle! It's definitely not fair, Eraserhead!" _

Rolling her eyes, Rei immediately ran across unfrozen portions of the tightropes, not even flinching at the narrow walkway. With her natural balance the entire thing was a cakewalk. Catwalk? She dismissed the thought, internally groaning at the terrible pun her mind had naturally conjured. What a wreck. She had to focus. But as long as she avoided the ice, she would be fine. Once again, the gap between her and the rest of the pack began to grow even more distant, giving her a renewed slice of satisfaction. She could hear the people behind her freezing in place before the gap, staring out at the new obstacle that laid in front of them. In the end, hesitation would only cost them time and placements.

It was like the physical tests at the beginning of the term all over again, where everyone seemed to have at least one area in which they excelled. But by having one obvious strength that was often terribly unique and special, it cost them in their ability to be well rounded. Rei's quirk wasn't flashy and didn't appear to be that much, but it offered her flexibility and heightened abilities in every area, even if she didn't come out on top in any one category.

Still, coming in second or third, or even as the runner up, in every category was a success in itself. There were no gaping weaknesses in her defenses, unlike some others. She would have to rely on that selling point going forward.

"_They haven't announced how many people will make it through, so you can't relax! Push forward!" _

Leaping from the rope onto a solid chunk of rock, Rei started off onto a new track. She was almost there, a little over halfway through the second obstacle and taking a comfortable lead over the majority of the pack, although Bakugou had solidly taken away second place from her and there were others who were beginning to creep up. Damn his explosive powers and his ability to fly over the pack. She was temporarily irritated the fact that it was most likely her fault that he had nearly perfected that ability, but she was focused on the steps of the rest of the crowd behind her, imagined ghosts of their breath gracing the back of her neck. The tension was rising. She couldn't lose focus now.

"_And now, the final barrier! The reality here is that it's a minefield!"_

Rei was just clearing the end of the second barrier when Present Mic's words reached her ears, her eyes bugging out as she ran. "You've got to be kidding me…"

"_It's set up so that you can tell where they are if you look closely, so you have to exploit your eyes and your legs! By the way, these land mines are for games, so they're not that powerful, but they're loud and flashy enough to make you want to wet your pants!"_

This time Rei let out a loud and exasperated groan, turning the final corner and looking at the last stretch before the third obstacle. She could already feel her ears throbbing from the inevitable explosions, even if they weren't triggered by her. Anticipation made her cover her ears as she looked out. The dread filled her chest as the minefield came into view, Todoroki already making considerable progress on the long stretch ahead of them.

Present Mic's explanation had been true; the mines were obvious to see if one even paid the slightest bit of attention to their surroundings. Their outlines were clearly traced for Rei, although she wondered if it was her enhanced eyesight that made it so obvious. Damn; she wouldn't be able to leap through the air, since she didn't have that kind of accuracy when it came to landing. She would have to take it step by step, hop by hop, as fast but as meticulous as she could. Without hesitation she began to walk the gauntlet, eyes flashing between her steps and the end goal. Todoroki was nearing the halfway point, but where was Bakugou?

"This doesn't affect me!"

Rei flinched as another explosion sounded, eyes widening as the blonde boy hurled himself forward with reckless abandon. But from his trajectory, he was intentionally aiming for Todoroki. Rei strained to keep focus between her own feet and the happenings ahead. What was he doing?

The explosive boy aimed a small blast at his classmate, forcing him to move out of the way. It was enough to set the two of them into a fist fight, all the while running through the minefield. Their distraction was slowing them down, and as Rei took a brief look at her surroundings she noticed that the group was now catching up to them. So that was how it was; the first place runners and those at the front had more mines to deal with, but as the race progressed…

Those at the back would have a distinct advantage.

Grimacing, Rei began to pick up the pace, hands still clasped tightly over her ears. The explosions were becoming more frequent now that there were even more people entering the field. Explosions, distractions, the overwhelming sound… Gold eyes were trained ahead. She just had to make it. She was almost there-"

A massive explosion sounded from behind.

It was enough to make almost everyone freeze, but Rei refused to look back. She was advancing forward, drawing even closer to Todoroki and Bakugou, who were staring into the air behind them in surprise. She would press on, even with the distraction.

"_Was it a mistake, or on purpose?! Either way, Class A's Midoriya is in hot pursuit with that blast!" _

"What?!" That got her attention. Rei paused to look up just as Midoriya soared over her head, riding on a hunk of scrap metal that was most likely from the robots in the first portion. Hurtling through the air, she could only watch in surprise at his unorthodox approach. So he had used the landmines the to boost himself through the air. It only could have happened since he had that hunk of metal to protect his body and to ride on. Everyone watched as he sailed over their heads, headed toward the finish line.

"_Actually, he's taken over for first place!"_

At Present Mic's announcement time seemed to resume and speed up, everyone resuming their motions to hurry onward. Rei watched as Bakugou and Todoroki broke apart, the two of them focused on catching up to the boy who had overtaken them for first.

"_Now the two formerly in the lead have stopped trying to take one another down and are chasing Midoriya!"_ Todoroki had laid down an ice path, determined to catch up. It was just slightly ahead of Rei. She could use it; jumping up into the air she now had a solid landing strip, bursting forward and using her claws to further propel herself forward.

There was still a considerable distance between her and the three ahead. Rei grimaced. She was losing ground, and the others behind her were catching up quickly. She could hear Iida's engine boosters, and she knew he would only find solid ground once he reached the icy foundation that Todoroki had laid down. But she refused to look behind. She had to focus forward. As long as she looked ahead-

Midoriya slapped the metal plate onto the ground in front of him.

Rei winced, hands rising to her ears as the explosion resounded ahead of her. Because of the size of the plate it had hit multiple landmines at once, a larger explosion than normal that reverberated down Rei's body. But even on the slippery ice she forced herself, willed herself forward. She couldn't stop.

"_Midoriya swiftly blocks those behind him! Would you believe it?! He clears the minefield in an instant! Eraserhead, your class is amazing! Just what are you teaching them?!"_

"_I didn't do anything." _

Rei felt two other people pass her by, followed by Iida. She clenched her jaw harder. There was no way she was giving up yet!

"_They got each other fired up on their own."_

"_Who could have ever predicted the results! Right now, entering the stadium, Midoriya Izuku from Class 1-A!"_

Bursting into the arena, Rei was breathing hard. By her estimation…

Ninth place.

She had been too confident in her abilities in the beginning. Of course there was going to be a portion that disadvantaged those in first, giving the others in the back a chance. But even so, Todoroki and Bakugou had still finished in second and third, only falling behind Midoriya because he had been incredibly resourceful and lucky with his strategy. Did that mean that she was just that weak, for falling behind?

Rei tried to convince herself that it didn't matter. She was never aiming to be the top hero. She was content to stay on the sides and simply take whatever successes came. She would assist others, would play the role of the shadow, carefully watching everyone else and taking what she could.

It was a lie. Her competitive streak was beginning to show.

Being second best was no longer an option.

* * *

"_The Cavalry Battle! You have fifteen minutes to choose your teams!"_

It made the most sense that she would be the rider, given that she was small and light. Additionally, she didn't have the greatest range of defensive capabilities, so she wouldn't be as useful as a horse, even though she was more than capable of carrying someone. Clenching her fists, Rei looked around. It would seem as though this was one of the times where standing on the fringes turned out to be a bad thing. Almost everyone had immediately turned to their friends to start building their teams, leaving Rei on the outskirts.

Even worse, now was the worst time to have an even distribution of skills. She had for the most part flown under the radar during the obstacle course, her abilities obscured for a variety of reasons. Of all the things to happen-

"Oi. You."

Rei turned around, face reactively frowning. "What-"

The world went blank.

Or it did relatively.

She felt like her mind was painted in water colors, seeing a world unseen for the first time. It was like her body had been ejected out of itself, her mind floating in an endless abyss that she didn't understand how to comprehend. There was no concept of time itself, as she lingered in this space.

Hazy smears of grey, tan, and occasionally blue floated in her sights in a dreamlike haze.

What had happened to her body? What even was she? It was as though every sense of self had been stripped away, Rei no longer aware of just who she was and where she had been. What had been happening up until this point? Nothing, no answers. Just a stretch of nothingness that she couldn't even begin to comprehend and process.

Then, just like that, it was over.

"We'll be taking a one hour break!"

"Thank you for your hard work."

Rei exhaled. What had happened? The crowd was going wild, cheering at an insane volume that startled Rei out of her stupor. Looking around in confusion, she turned to Ojirou, who wore a similar expression on his face. She had to admit that she didn't know her classmate that well, so she was unsure of what was going on in his mind. Was she imagining things? But the moment that they locked eyes in a gaze, they shared a look that made her feel less alone. So it wasn't her imagination.

That only meant that the purple haired boy had done something. Was that his quirk? Her mind still felt hazy, as though waking up from an entirely too long nap. Hands clenching, she began to walk after him, determined to get an answer. Stalking off with a dark look on her face, she parsed her way through the crowd, trying to find where he had gone. She was ready to give him a piece of her mind, as well as figure out just what the hell he had done to her. She knew that something was up with him. Damn it! Why hadn't she realized it sooner?

The participants had begun to disperse in groups, making it difficult to see where everyone was. Everyone was more or less conglomerated in a mess of bodies, everyone weaving and lingering almost aimlessly as they tried to find their friend before running off to lunch. It should have been easier to spot a mop of purple hair, but with Rei's unfortunate challenge with verticality and a complete lack of good genes to give her even an average height, she was left searching aimlessly. A dark look had come across her face, at least warding off some of the people closest to her, giving her a wide berth as people tried to avoid the deathly aura eminating from her.

But she couldn't be isolated for long.

"Oi!"

A strong hand grabbed her wrist, suddenly dragging her in a new direction. Rei stumbled over her feet, trying to regain her balance as she looked at the person who had so rudely interrupted her. "Bakugou? What are you doing-"

"Shut it." He growled, dragging her off down a corridor, still clutching onto her wrist. She tried pulling her wrist out of his grip, but it was too tight, clamped down and unrelenting. Rei had no choice but to follow him, the two of them snaking through the maze of passages underneath the stadium.

With a growl she continued to try and pull her hand away. "Bakugou, the hell are you doing?"

"I'm supposed to be the one asking you that!" He suddenly rounded on her, face snarling aggressively. Rei balked at the open display of unbridled rage in her direction, never having had the full effect so openly displayed toward her. She blinked slowly, trying to take in everything at once. Everything was too confusing, and her head was still foggy.

Shaking her head slowly, she tried to make sense of everything that was going on. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't start that stupid crap!" He pointed a finger at her accusingly, causing her to cross her arms defensively. "I tried to ask you to join my team, but you went and joined up with that stupid purple hair! The hell were you thinking?"

Even more confusion. Rei tried to recall what had happened after the boy had turned to her, but she only drew a blank. There were fuzzy noises and images, but nothing clear that she could recall. Lifting a hand to her temple, her brows furrowed as she tried to focus. "I… don't remember anything."

"Huh?"

Bakugou at least had enough sense to look confused at her discombobulation. Rei prided herself on at least being put together enough to make sense of every situation. This, however, was foreign. "I don't remember."

There were a few conclusions she could draw, and all of them pointed fingers at a familiar purple haired boy. Anger surged through her veins, her face turning dark. "That asshole must have a mind controlling quirk. He forced me to join his team, and then everything went dark and blurry. I don't remember anything until it was over." Growling, she clenched her fist. "That bastard's gonna pay."

Suddenly, his words came back to her mind. She paused, face smoothing over blankly as she looked back into red eyes. "Wait, you were gonna ask me to join your team?"

He scoffed, turning sharp on his heel and storming away. "Don't repeat what I say. It's annoying."

The corner of Rei's lips twitched, and she jogged to catch up with him. "Really? Thought you didn't want me around."

"Stupid. I just told you to stay outta my way."

Covering her mouth to hide her snicker, she walked next to him, having to skip every couple steps in order to keep up with his stride. "Are you warming up to me? I didn't think you had it in you."

The only reaction she received was an eyeroll and a click of his tongue as he shoved his hands into his pockets. It was subtle, but he had slowed his pace enough so that Rei could keep up without struggle. She hid her smile, not wanting to call him out. "So, we both advance to the next round."

"You better not get in my way."

"You better make good on your promise this morning."

He scoffed. "I'll beat everyone up who stands in my way."

She threw a glance at him, but mostly kept her eyes looking forward. "If we do end up fighting, I won't hold back."

"You better. I'll kill you if you don't."

Rei slowed to a halt, watching as Bakugou continued a few more steps before pausing, turning to look back at her in confusion. There was something that she couldn't figure out, for all of the parts of him that were easy to solve. Why had he wanted her to be a part of his team? He wasn't the type to be a horse, that much was for sure. He was more acclimated to being a rider, giving orders to everyone else beneath him. But Rei knew for a fact that she was a mostly ineffective horse; she had determined it from the get go. So why had he, Bakugou, the boy who was aiming for the number one spot and nothing less, wanted Rei to join his team when she was clearly surpassed by others?

Standing there in the empty hallway, she was reminded of their encounter in the forest as she looked at the boy in front of her. Internally she flushed, embarrassed at her failure to react properly at that time. Turning her face to look at the ground, Rei allowed the confusion to wash over her fully. Why? What merit did she bring to a boy who was so clearly out of her league?

"Why?" Slowly she raised her gaze, meeting Bakugou's gaze determinedly. Their eyes locked, and Rei felt her heart stutter. But she forced her mind to remain clear, to at least figure out her one question. "Why did you want me on your team?"

His lips parted, Rei aware of every little movement he made. Turning to face her completely, he gathered his thoughts, opening his mouth to speak.

But a voice made its way to Rei's ears, and she held up a hand for him to stop. He looked irritated that she had asked a question but interrupted him before he even had the chance to respond, but she walked forward stealthily, intentionally hiding her footsteps and making them softer on the pavement. Standing next to Bakugou, she whispered as best as she could.

"Someone's around the corner up there." Her eyes went blank, straining to hear and distinguish just who it was. To her surprise, she recognized both of them. "It's Todoroki and Midoriya."

Bakugou's eyes narrowed at the mention of his childhood rival, walking forward and grabbing Rei's wrist again as he dragged her along. She tried to protest but he was determined, going all the way to the corner just around where the two boys stood talking. Rei wanted to growl and slap Bakugou across the face for manhandling her not once, but twice, but she kept quiet instead, listening curiously.

She was naturally curious as well, and growing up she had never been above a little eavesdropping, especially when something grabbed her attention.

Normally she wouldn't have cared, but there were compounding factors at play. She had naturally been a little curious and wary of Todoroki's open statement against Midoriya back before when they had been in the waiting room in the arena, along with his declaration that he was going to beat the green haired boy in a decisive manner. Normally Todoroki was quiet, making him a lot like Rei except in the sense that he didn't exude an aura of annoyance or death for most of the day. He was a mystery that Rei hadn't had time to unpack, and he was obviously choosing now to play up his strengths and prove himself now that he could go against even his classmates in a free for all setting. His sudden interest in Midoriya was suspicious, and even Rei had to admit that she was curious to listen in. Midoriya was now included in the small triangle of friends that she had, and she wasn't about to let anything unlawful slide.

Of course, she was forced into this situation by Bakugou, who had practically dragged her along for the ride. But she had to admit that she wasn't entirely against snooping.

"I felt something similar coming from you." It was Todoroki who was musing, his voice low and quiet. Rei distractedly wondered if Bakugou could even hear him from this distance, what with his regular human hearing. But the two of them stiffened at the same time at Todoroki's next question, confirming that he was in fact audible from that distance.

"Midoriya, are you All Might's secret love child or something?"

She would have laughed in almost any other situation. The logical jump that Todoroki had just made was horrendous, a chasm of unknowns and shoddy facts likely lining the path up to that decision. But as she clamped her hands over her mouth in order to hide her laugh, she found her jaw dropping in surprise and horror as she began to logically consider the idea.

All Might had shown interest in Midoriya outside of class. It was mostly subtle, but there were times when even Rei had her suspicions on what was going on with the two of them. They were obviously connected somehow outside of U.A., but the rest of it was a big, fatty, question mark. The more that she considered Todoroki's proposal, the less strange it seemed to be, although it was certainly mind boggling and deserved an incredulous look for its bizarre nature.

"Well? Are you?"

The fact that Midoriya had even hesitated and began to actively defend himself only after a moment of silence made Rei suspicious. She wanted to believe that Todoroki was simply over imagining and overthinking the connection, but Midoriya wasn't helping his own case. He stuttered and stumbled his way through a defense, panic fully registered in his voice. "Th-that's not it! I mean, even if it was I would say I wasn't, but then you wouldn't believe me…" He continued to ramble in a way that was very characteristic of himself, but he managed to stop himself, turning the question around. "In any case, why do you think that?"

"Since you said 'that's not how it is.' That means there's a connection between the two of you that you can't talk about, right?"

With every passing idea, Rei found that even she was beginning to be a little suspicious of Midoriya. Something wasn't adding up, with all the strange things that already surrounded his situation. Bakugou had mentioned that Midoriya had grown up quirkless, and suddenly he developed a quirk and had All Might's extra support? In the silence that stretched after Todoroki's analysis, Rei was increasingly inclined to believe that her new friend was hiding something from everyone.

It was Todoroki who broke the silence. "Endeavor's my old man. I'm sure you know that he's been stuck as the number two hero for forever. If you have something from the number one hero, then I have even more reason to beat you."

Rei turned to look at Bakugou, who had an impassive look on his face. Behind his eyes she could see the gears turning, his thoughts flying by at a fast rate as he processed everything that they were hearing. She was reminded of his rivalry with Midoriya, Bakugou's determination to crush the boy absolutely. There was a fire that was cooking in the background, but he remained as rigid and impassive as ever.

"My old man has a strong desire to rise in the world. As a hero he won a name for himself with crushing force. Because of that, All Might is an eyesore for him. Since he couldn't surpass All Might, he moved on to his next plan."

"What are you talking about, Todoroki-kun? What are you trying to tell me?"

"You've heard of quirk marriages, right?"

At this turn Rei began to feel increasingly uncomfortable. She was well aware of these marriages, and the types of people that were affected by them. Her thoughts passed to Reina as she clenched her hands to her chest, closing her eyes. She knew where this was going. "Choosing a spouse based on strengthening your own quirk and passing it on to your children. My old man has accomplishments and money. He won over my mother's relatives and got a hold on my mother's quirk. He is trying to fulfill his own desire by raising me to be a hero that surpasses All Might. It's so annoying." Rei could hear his throat tightening, his voice straining for his words to be heard. It mirrored the way her heart clenched painfully, the empathy she felt for him. "I won't become the tool of scum like that."

For a moment there was silence. Rei was certain that the conversation was over. But Todoroki continued, as though his words could not be stopped once the memories began to flow. "In my memories, my mother is always crying. 'Your left side is unsightly.' That's what she said when she poured boiling water on me."

Rei couldn't help the gasp that flew from her mouth. Bakugou instinctively threw a hand over her mouth, but no other sound would come out anyway, the motion in vain. She knew she should have left as soon as that gut feeling in her stomach told her to leave. There always came a time when it was time to quit, but Rei had ignored it. It was too much information, too much personal background that had now fallen upon her ears and into her lap. Frozen in horror, she could only listen as he continued. "I picked a fight with you to show him what I can do, without using his damn quirk." At this thought his voice began to raise in determination, even through the agony. "I'm going to reject him by winning first place without using his quirk."

Silence. Then the sound of footsteps fading away. Rei looked up at Bakugou, slowly raising her hands to gently pry his hand away from her mouth, allowing her to breathe more freely. She would have made a comment about how he should wash his hands before getting anywhere near her face, but the heavy tone of the conversation of which they had just eavesdropped had passed over to them. At a loss for words, she looked away at the ground, exhaling through her nose silently.

"Why does he ignore me, after everything?"

Rei looked up sharply, watching as Bakugou's face morphed into pure, unadulterated anger once again. "What's so good about that damn Deku? What is it?!"

Crossing her arms, Rei leaned against the wall. "It isn't about sheer fighting power. Todoroki-"

"Not that," he spat viciously, making Rei flinch. "Todoroki, Deku, even All Might… Why don't they even look my way? What's so good about that useless Deku that everyone thinks he's the top?"

"Oi." Pivoting to stand in front of him, she grabbed his upper arms, checking around the corner to make sure the coast was clear before staring up at his face. But he looked to the side, adamant to avoid her gaze. "Midoriya isn't useless. Out of everyone in the class, he's been making the most gains-"

"Shut up! Even you, why do you side with him?"

"Because no one has to worry about you!"

Her voice spat out viciously, matching Bakugou in anger and fury. What was it about this boy that pushed her to her emotional limit and broke her calm mask? But she refused to back down, now taking advantage of the fact that she had thrown the boy off guard, red eyes meeting her own in surprise. "You came top in the entrance exam. You understand how to use your quirk. You never need to be pushed or prodded, because you're already pushing yourself. When are you going to get it into your head that no one worries about you because you're so far ahead?"

Shaking his arms, she only barreled forward, letting her anger and her emotions carry her away. She was thankful that Todoroki and Midoriya had left the area, lest they not only find out that they had been eavesdropping, but that she was breaking out of character. "I don't care what All Might sees in Midoriya, because I know it all boils down to something out of my control. But Todoroki is putting a target on his back because he sees potential that can be smashed easily. No one has to worry about you, because you're so far ahead. Don't you see?" Swallowing her pride and her fear, she pushed the final button on the tipping point. "The spotlight isn't on you anymore, because you're a constant. You might as well get used to it."

Her words appeared to pierce him as he looked away, unable to meet her gaze any longer. Holding him for a moment more she slowly released him, backing away slowly as she breathed slowly to try and gather herself back together. There were few times anymore that she truly unleashed her anger and irritation like that; she had thought that she had learned to compose herself. Inhaling deep she dropped her hands to her sides, closing her eyes as she exhaled, only reopening them when she felt composed enough. "Sorry."

Bakugou only pushed himself off from the wall, sticking one hand in his pocket. He stood dangerously close to Rei, forcing her to crane her neck up in order to look at him. Raising his hand and bringing it down toward her head, Rei naturally flinched, preparing for the blow.

But instead he gently flicked her nose, earning a nose wrinkle, a scowl, and a sound of disgruntlement from Rei. She looked up in frustration that melted into confusion as she noted the small smile on his lips, a strangely soft look coming from the aggressive boy.

"You're better when you drop that bland look off your face."

His words were soft and husky, making Rei's heart flutter in her chest. She blinked slowly in bewilderment as he stepped away, increasing the distance between them until Rei felt like a normal person again. Collecting herself, she crossed her arms over her chest and scowled, tossing her head to the side in a small effort to conceal just how unnerved she truly was. "Didn't know that you had it in you to be barely cordial."

Huffing, he stuck his free hand back into his pocket, turning away and walking toward the exit. "Don't push it."

Internally Rei was beaming, but she covered it with an eyeroll and a purposeful stride forward, noticing how he fell into step next to her. "Let's hurry up and get lunch. You wasted my time with this stupid excursion and now we're gonna be late."

"Hah? It was your fault for ignoring me."

"I already told you, it wasn't my fault."

"Geez, you're insufferable when you want to be."

"See the stick in another's eye and ignore the log in your own."

"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?! Oi, stop ignoring me, you alleycat!"

"Don't fucking call me that again."

"Hah? Alleycat? Does that make you-"

"Bakagou."

"That's it-"

* * *

AN: I'm sorry for not updating for a few days! Got a lot on my plate.

I'm in the process of re-outlining what I had planned for later. I decided to scrap like... 90% of it. I think it's changes for the better, but I have a lot of pressure to fulfill the things I want to do in order to execute the story properly. Good challenges for me!

Thank y'all for the reviews! I'll try to post another chapter soon. I've been trying my best to do multiple edits and reviews of each chapter before I post them so that they're a bit more polished for y'all.

Leave a review if you like something!


	9. Sports Festival (Part 2)

Chapter 9

Sports Festival, Part 2

* * *

_A month passed by in a flash. And every day, Reina was waiting at the front door of the orphanage for Rei to return from school, a new adventure planned ahead of them. Some days they buckled down and tackled Rei's homework together, reviewing concepts that were difficult and solidifying her knowledge. Other days were spent in simple companionship, taking excursions around the town or simply spending the afternoon doing something that wasn't academic. In the short time that they had spent together, Rei saw her grades rising, slowly but steadily. Her confidence in class grew, and although she was still the silent storm that kept to herself in the back corner she rose to the challenge whenever a teacher called on her. _

_Improvements. Slowly, but surely._

_Some days Reina would take Rei out on excursions across the city. Rei was seeing the town in a new light as they visited distant corner stores, shopping districts, and Reina's favorite, small cafes with specialty desserts and beverages. It was where they had come today; a small cafe that they had visited multiple times already, just a few blocks from the orphanage. Reina was a regular customer, the staff greeting her cheerfully as she took the cafe by storm, her jubilant and radiant personality shining. _

_That was something Rei had been uncertain about at first. Reina was Rei's antithesis, the bubbly, cheerful woman that always had something nice to say, who could carry on a conversation with even the most unwilling individuals and warm their heart. Rei had joked at one point that perhaps that was Reina's quirk, the ability to talk to people and change their personalities. There was something magical about the way Reina carried herself, bringing light to everyone. And Rei found that she wasn't an exception._

_Today they sat in the cafe, Rei with a chocolate croissant and a sweetened latte while Reina picked apart a fruit tart and drank her mocha. Even with summer approaching they stuck with their warm drinks, the cool air of the cafe ensuring that they could relax and take their time. The elder chewed thoughtfully, waving her fork in the air. "So, where do you see yourself in five years?"_

_Sipping her latte, Rei raised an eyebrow. "Five years?"_

"_Yeah! You have to have a game plan, right?"_

_She knew it was a common question, to ask about a person's dreams and aspirations, but as Rei set her drink down she could only scrunch her face in concentration and confusion. "I don't know. I've never thought about it."_

"_Ehh? Really? But there has to be something!" _

_Shaking her head, Rei leaned an elbow on the table, resting her chin on her palm and taking the opportunity to stare out the window. It was late afternoon, the streets a little more busy now that most people were out of school or leaving work. Golden eyes watched the people that passed by, not noticing her stare and going on about their business without a care in the world. Where would she be in five years? "To be honest," she started plainly, "I only thought that I would be out of the orphanage system by then. Maybe I'd have a small job somewhere. But I never wanted to think about it, because the only thing that remained was that I'd be out on the streets somewhere." _

_Reina's brown eyes were warm, her face clearly concerned as she stared at the young girl she mentored. "Then, what did you want to be as a kid?"_

"_Huh?"_

_She grinned. "You know, when you were five. What did you want to be? A policeman, an astronaut…"_

_Rei knew immediately. Her heart hurt as memories began to flood her mind once more. How had she forgotten, after all this time? "A hero." _

"_A hero?" Now that they were getting somewhere, Reina grinned energetically. "I could see it; your quirk is pretty versatile. I think you'd make a great hero."_

"_But I can't." Even with the encouragement that made her heart flutter with hope, Rei knew that she had to squash it down. It was illogical, impossible. "I'm not smart enough to get into a hero school. I didn't even think about going to high school." _

_Setting her cup down on the saucer, Reina looked squarely at Rei, a reprimanding look on her face. "What have we talked about? There's no such thing…"_

_Rei sighed. "As can't. I can do anything."_

"_So what's so different about this?" In the silence, Reina waited for a few moments, sighing to herself as Rei slipped into her own thoughts. She could see the gears turning, but the hesitation and fear was still lingering in her eyes. "Rei-chan, remember what I told you a month ago? When you said you were scared?"_

_At this Rei turned back to look into brown eyes, dropping her hands back to her drink as she looked in surprise. "You said that you wouldn't leave."_

"_Then I'm going to change that promise." Shocked, Rei was frozen in fear for a moment before she read the determination and excitement in her mentor's eyes, the electricity and hope that was constantly contagious. "I'm going to stay with you, all the way to when you get accepted into a hero school. And then, I'll be by your side, cheering for you when you become a hero." _

_It wasn't a half-hearted promise, or an empty deal that would snap at the slightest pressure. Reina's vow was as solid as the day she had promised to not leave Rei, this addendum as meaningful and intentional as the last. There was still fear and uncertainty in Rei's heart, but as she looked at her mentor she found that she was beginning to believe that she could do it. Nothing was impossible, and even then, even this wasn't improbable. It was feasible, right now just beyond Rei's grasp, but if she worked for it…_

"_Okay."_

* * *

With a full stomach and dread in her heart, Rei had marched back into the stadium on her own. After they had reached the lunch room Bakugou had stormed off on his own, leaving Rei a bit dazed and unsure of where to turn. Fortunately her friend had flagged her down, admonishing her for taking so much time and talking about something else as Rei had dug into her meal. She had made sure to eat light enough so that it wouldn't slow her down during the afternoon, but giving her enough sustenance to push through the afternoon's activities.

At least she had gotten out of getting into those cheerleading outfits. Damn Mineta and his schemes. At least Rei was able to level him with one look, instantly making everyone back away from her.

"Alright, we're going to draw lots! Starting with-"

"Excuse me... but I'd like to withdraw."

All eyes turned to Ojiro, who had shyly raised his hand. Gasps of astonishment could be heard, and even Rei crossed her arms in surprise. "I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle," he began to explain, a disappointed look on his face. "I think it was that guy's quirk."

Rei's eyes narrowed. So that hadn't been her imagination. As he continued to explain his rationale for withdrawing, Rei sent a look around the crowd of students. She couldn't see the purple haired boy, mostly due to the fact that she was terribly short and couldn't see through the crowd, but she shot suspicious glares all around. Rei had to respect Ojiro's honesty and integrity. She, unfortunately, wasn't so noble.

This was her shot to get recognized. She wasn't about to let it slip away, no matter the circumstances.

In the end, another familiar face was moved up into the bracket. It was the metal guy from Class 1-B, the guy that reminded her of Kirishima…

Whatever the case, it was resolved.

The match ups came to life on all the screens around the stadium. Rei looked up blankly, crossing her arms. _Kaminari, huh?_

"Oi, Akatsuki-san!"

Speak of the devil.

The blonde boy weaved through the crowd, waving his hand as he drew closer and closer. As soon as he stopped in front of her he gave a thumbs up and a wink. "Let's do our best today, right?"

Rei nodded her head, shifting awkwardly. "Yeah."

"No hard feelings! Let's go all out!"

Wouldn't that be bad for her, since his quirk was quite literally electrifying? But she would come up with a plan. She had to. Instead she nodded her head solemnly. "I look forward to it, Kaminari-san."

Bouncing around and running back toward Kirishima and Sero, Rei looked around the area before finding her intended target. Ojiro had already approached Midoriya, the two of them conversing for a moment before starting to walk away, the group of them dispersing as they began to get ready for the recreational part of the tournament. Rei was forced to pick up the pace in order to catch up with the two boys, before she lost them in the crowd.

Dodging through the crowd, she finally managed to catch up. "Midoriya-san."

The two of them turned at the green haired boy's name, Midoriya's eyes lighting up in surprise and excitement while Ojiro's face nodded, already knowing what was coming. "Akatsuki-san, are you going to participate in the recreational part?"

Shaking her head, she looked around at the people surrounding them before lowering her voice slightly. "Let me come with you. I want to talk to you and Ojiro about your opponent. You're up first, right?"

Surprised, Midoriya nodded choppily, leading the way to his waiting room. There was much to discuss.

* * *

"A quirk that can control people?" Midoriya looked at the table, sweat beginning to form on his brow as his eyes went wide at the possibilities. Rei could see his brain working away at all the different scenarios, picking through the strategies and sifting through his ideas in the way he always did. Perhaps he was overthinking it, as usual, but she let him have his way. It was better that he started now; he was the one who was most likely to create a cohesive plan. "Isn't that too strong to beat?"

"Yeah, but you can probably avoid it if you know about it." With Midoriya at the end of the table, Ojiro sat to his left, Rei sitting directly to Midoriya's right. Her eyes flickered between the two as Ojiro tried to explain thing better. "I don't remember much after I answered his question," he pointed at his head, eyes still a little unfocused as he tried to remember the details. "I think that's how it works."

Rei folded her hands in front of her, propping her elbows on the table and pressing her hands to the bridge of her nose. "The same thing happened with me," she spoke quietly, eyes going dark. "He said something to provoke me. As soon as I responded, it was over."

The already strained look on Midoriya's face only grew worse as his brows furrowed even deeper, hands clasped in front of him. "So, if I answer without thinking, I'll lose immediately."

"No, it's not completely impenetrable."

Rei and Midoriya looked up in surprise, both lifting their heads to look at the blonde boy. "I said I barely remembered anything until almost the end, right? When we were running away after Shinso stole Tetsutetsu's headband, it looks like I ran into one of the horses on his team. That's when I snapped out of it. I remember clearly after that."

"So receiving a shock can get rid of it?"

"There might be other compounding factors," Rei added, hesitant to build upon the negatives of the situation. But it was important to consider the entire situation as realistically and holistically as possible. "Shinso was controlling three of us as horses, so the strength might have to do with the number of people he's holding control over at once."

Ojiro nodded. "Akatsuki-san is right. I also don't know what kind of shock you need to snap out of it, and in a one-on-one situation you can't rely on help." Scooting his chair back and standing up, Ojiro nodded his head. "Well, that's about all I can provide. Sorry it's not much."

Midoriya shook his hands. "No thank you. That's a big help."

The blonde boy nodded, lingering for a moment more as he clenched his hand in front of him. "I'm going to say something selfish, but please do your best for me too." He offered his fist to Midoriya, who stood to receive the gesture gratefully. After bumping fists Ojiro swiftly left the room, leaving the other two alone.

Sitting down, Midoriya began to panic again. "Even if that's a help, how am I going to do this? I can't talk, but still knowing that…"

"Just win."

Interrupting his monologue, Rei stood up from the table as Midoriya stared in surprise. Her eyes were soft, even though her face was placid, unwavering. "Don't think about what could go wrong. You've been given an advantage. Win," she quietly urged him. "So you can meet me at the top of our bracket."

His eyes glistened, the beginnings of his resolve building back in his eyes. She could see the determination, relaxing at the sight.

"I'll see you there, Akatsuki-san."

"I'd better."

* * *

"_Next up, we saw her briefly in the obstacle course, but we're not really sure what she does! It's Akatuski Rei from Class 1-A! Versus, sparking killing boy! Also from Class 1-A, Kaminari Denki!" _

Rei's eye twitched at Present Mic's introduction, a dark mood surrounding her as she walked up the final flight of stairs. She was certain that everyone was picking up the fact that she was less than thrilled to be standing up there, what with all the television cameras that had trained on her face, but she didn't care. She wasn't about to put on a pretty face. Present Mic's less than enthusiastic and informational introduction for her had secured the fact that no one was going to see the pretty side of Rei any time soon. "You've got to be kidding me…" Reaching the battle field, she stood with her arms hanging at her sides, composed as she could be. Two sets of golden eyes met one another, clashing as they stared down in friendly rivalry.

"_We have another flashy battle, coming right up! Ready, start!" _

"You ready, Akatsuki-san?" Kaminari grinned, readying his fists. "Because I'm not going to hold back!"

Sliding her right foot backward, Rei readied her hands as well, eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't have it any other way." Of all the opponents she could have faced, Kaminari was one of the easiest to read, mostly due to the fact that she had already worked with him and he had explained his quirk. She knew most of his limits and how he liked to fight, giving her a distinct advantage. But that came with the knowledge that his absolute upper limit had a chance of taking her out instantaneously.

There were two ways this could go. He could try to fight in hand to hand combat, dealing electrifying blows if he managed to land anything on Rei. It was the more difficult route, seeing as how Rei was certainly faster and craftier than most people imagined. Even in their class, few people had ever seen her go full out, since she tended to use her surrounding to her advantage instead of revealing her fighting skills. Additionally, she already knew that Kaminari wasn't the strongest in hand to hand. If that was the route he chose, then there was a possibility that the match could get stretched on for a wide range of time. But if he really wanted to end this battle decisively…

"Indiscriminate Shock, 1.3 million volts!"

Obviously she was at a disadvantage. She couldn't call up any defenses like Tokoyami's dark shadow, or conjure an ice wall like Todoroki. But she had prepared for this as best as possible, creating a plan that would hopefully give her enough power to survive the initial blow. If she could survive this move, then her victory was assured; Kaminari would be down and out for the count, but so would she if she wasn't careful. As soon as she felt the air crackling with energy she leapt as high as she could into the air, watching as the lightning whipped out indiscriminately. With her single leap she could only afford to buy a few seconds of time, and she knew that Kaminari had been training, most likely in his endurance in keeping up this final move. Before he could only afford about three seconds tops. But now…

As expected, she fell back into the tangle of electricity, immediately getting zapped. It stung worse than a bee sting, licking at her skin and tazing her with incredible power. She couldn't help but scream, clenching her jaw together as she tried to keep her wits about her. Focus! She was fortunate that her regenerative quirk was working full time to try and keep her body alive, healing as fast as it could go. But even so she could tell that her stamina was dropping with every passing second.

Which brought her to her next plan.

Landing on the ground, she exerted every bit of energy, focus, and concentration she could to make sure that only the balls of her feet touched the ground, all her strength and coordination pulled into that move. With her heels touching one another she tucked her head into her torso, covering it with her arms to shield her head as much as she could. Another scream ripped from her chest at the pain. It stung, everywhere.

But she could hold out, just for a bit longer. Sure enough she began to feel the energy waning, the voltage dropping steadily until it fizzled out completely. Her muscles twitched as she finally fell to her hands and knees, breathing heavily as she shook her head. She felt heavy, like lead, wanting to drop to the ground with finality. No, she couldn't survive that much just to fail! She had worked too hard, her plan was fool proof. She just needed to stand.

To the side, Midnight raised her hand uncertainly, eyes flickering between one student who had been brought to her hands and knees, electricity still licking her limbs and flickering around her, while the other plodded around brainlessly, completely friend mentally but still standing. "Akatsuki is unable to stand! The winner-"

"No!"

The crowd drew their breath at the cry, leaning forward in their chairs as they watched the girl grit her teeth. Shaking her head with a frustrated cry, Rei put one foot on the ground, placing her hands on her knees as she pushed herself up. She staggered to the side wearily, but she refused to fall, shaking her hands out to her side. Golden eyes trained aggressively on Kaminari, who had enough sense to realize what was going on and stood frozen in fear. Rei managed to unhinge her jaw one more time. "I can still move!"

Slowly she pulled herself to her full height, rolling her shoulders back and sliding into an offensive stance once more. Breathing hard, she shifted her weight. "Better get ready, Kaminari," she spoke lowly, voice barely audible, "because I'm coming."

"_After all that, Akatsuki is still able to stand! Just what is she?!"_

"_It wasn't just her ability to endure. When she landed on the ground she made sure that she balanced on the balls of her feet and connected her heels, making sure that almost all the energy was redirected back into the ground. She used her body as a conduit, not an end point."_

With a cry she burst forward, showing no signs of weakness anymore as she sprinted at full speed, adrenaline working full time now that she had defied the odds and managed to overcome the seemingly impossible. There was no way for Kaminari to react, ragdolling as soon as she grabbed his arm and tugged him along behind her. Running up to the line of disqualification she yanked his arm, placing her free hand on his back and forcing him to move outside of the zone. For a moment they stood still, Rei breathing hard and the rest of the crowd still shocked from the turn of events.

Raising her arms now with finality, Midnight lifted her flail into the air. "Kaminari is out of bounds. Akatsuki advances to the next round!"

The cheers from the crowd were energetic although slightly subdued compared to other matches, whispers going about the audience even as Rei slowly released her grip on Kaminari. "Thank you, for giving your all." The boy gave a thumbs up to indicate that he had heard her, a whiny grunt the only voice affirmation she was to receive.

The robots came with two stretchers to take them to the medical bay, easily hoisting Kaminari onto the surface, the boy terrifyingly maleable. But Rei refused, even as her arms and legs shook. "No, I'll walk." She was injured, but she refused to lie on a stretcher; her pride wouldn't have it. Holding her head high, an attempt to demonstrate her resolve and her unwillingness to go down no matter the circumstances, she set her shoulders back and walked away, listening to the ecstatic cheers of the crowd.

They had underestimated her. It was there in Present Mic's introduction. Even though she had placed herself near the top she wasn't much to look at, considering there were people with tails and other quirks that flashily manifested themselves. They had equated her normal physicality with average performance. Even as her legs felt like rubber she forced herself to walk tall; they wouldn't get anything from her. She would show them.

How strange, that a week or two ago she had planned to fly under the radar. Now she was fighting to be seen, to be the best. As the crowd began to surge again at seeing her stand up in victory, Rei soaked it in, breathing in deep and letting a smirk make its way to her lips. It was admittedly addictive, standing in front of a roaring crowd that was now in her favor, cheering her name and screaming wildly at the outcome of events. Rei could try and pretend that it was a fluke that she now boldly stepped into the forray, but she knew deep down that it came to a gentle natured boy with a genuine smile and his flashy antithesis.

Those two wanted to be the best, and they wouldn't settle for less. Now, neither would their peers. Neither would she.

* * *

After getting healed by Recovery Girl, a fairly quick endeavor that came with a harsh scolding from the school's resident nurse, Rei was back in the bleachers, watching the competition. Everyone had been completely shocked at her survival and how quickly she had returned from Recovery Girl's office, but she had waved their concerns away, only wanting to sit in relative quiet as she analyzed the other matches in preparation for her own. There was much to think about, and much she had to do to prepare in so little time. For the most part everything progressed as expected.

For the most part.

And of course, it all came to a head when Midoriya's match against Todoroki came around.

If Rei hadn't been dead serious about facing Midoriya in her bracket, she would have been livid at the chaos that he and Todoroki had wrecked upon the stadium. Ice, concrete, and other debris had swirled violently in a malstrom of destruction, rocking the crowd and endangering their lives unnecessarily. He had done his absolute best to progress, but at what cost?

Just what the hell had Midoriya been thinking? Had he even been thinking? Of course, that was a stupid question; if anything, Midoriya tended to over think things, what with how fast his brain made connections so quickly and how curious he was about everyone's abilities. There was something that told Rei that Midoriya had planned for this, or something similar to occur. Still, it was enough to put a dent in her mood.

But as she emerged into the arena for her next match, she smoothed her face over into one of tenativeness and concern. She had a plan, and she couldn't let the other matches affect her portrayal now. In any other circumstance she would have worn her typical scowl for all to see, but now was not the time. This match required multiple layers, and she had to play her part.

"_We didn't get to see much of him in action in the first match, so here's to a second chance! It's Iida Tenya from Class A! Going up against him, the monster that managed to withstand a thundershock, it's totally unfair! What even is her quirk?! It's Akatsuki Rei also from Class A!"_

Walking up the steps tentatively, Rei watched Iida readying up from his side of the arena. Uncertain, she slowly slid into a defensive stance, wariness on her face. Iida noticed the tension, commenting as he readied himself. "Nervous, Akatsuki-san?"

She shifted. "Sorry, but you're a bit fast for my taste."

"_Ready, start!"_

Engines waking and boosting, Iida didn't hesitate. "Then I apologize, but I'm going to give it my all!"

Surging forward, he just missed grabbing onto Rei as she instinctually rolled to the side, narrowly dodging out of harm's way and quickly rising to her feet again, retaking her defensive stance. Iida went on the offensive, swinging his arms and legs quickly in close combat, attempting to catch her off guard. But in close quarters it was clear who was the ruler; for every swing he threw Rei had a perfect counter, dodging and anticipating every movement.

But much to his surprise it was Rei who back away, jumping backwards in a high arc after Iida had aimed a low sweeping kick at her ankles. Clearing almost half the field in an instant, she readied herself again.

Pressing his advantage, Iida blasted off, covering the distance in less than half the time, giving Rei no extra time to think. "Too slow!" Exchanging blows once again they danced around one another, Iida lunging forward and using his strength to attempt to overwhelm Rei's slight frame. But golden eyes only watched carefully, defending flawlessly once again. They were at a stalemate, what with the way that Iida continued a barrage of blows that Rei darted through and deflected expertly.

It was when Rei jumped back again that Iida saw his opportunity. Before she had even reached the ground his engines were already kicking in, sprinting to catch her before she fell. Clamping his hands around her upper body he began sprinting to the other end of the arena, his plan finally in action. He had planned to use his speed in order to overwhelm her and push her out of bounds from the beginning. It wasn't that he didn't respect her, or didn't think Rei strong enough to withstand his blows, rather the opposite. But there was still little known about what exactly Rei could pull; she preferred manipulation and exploitation of terrain advantages during class, leaving her exact physical skills and quirk abilities a mystery. Here in the arena there was little that she could use, so Iida had decided from the get go to simply overwhelm her by using his speed and push her out of bounds.

Even if she had evaded his first two attacks, he had predicted the third. She had been slower to jump away the third time, a sign of exhaustion. He would have to take advantage of it and quite literally run with it. Grasping her firmly in his hands, he sprinted toward the edge of the arena, the line drawing closer and closer.

"Are you sure?"

Blue eyes widening, time seemed to slow. By the time he recognized that daredevil smirk on her face it was too late. Delivering a kick to his groin he instinctively dropped her, hands flying to his guts. If he had his armor, none of this would have happened. But that was exactly the point. Rei dropped to the ground, landing on her back with a thud and a breath while kicking her legs into the air.

If she had been any other person, he would have simply tumbled right over her collapsed form. But instead, to everyone's surprise, he was sent sailing through the air from her kick that launched him over her, continuing his momentum and ensuring that he was unable to stop himself as he flew through space. With a shout he tumbled off the edge of the arena, rolling down the first flight of stairs. There wouldn't be an inch of him that didn't hurt after that.

"Iida Tenya is out of bounds. Akatsuki Rei advances to the next round!"

The crowd erupted.

Rei walked over to her classmate, who had begun to pick himself up from the ground. Offering a hand, she pulled Iida up from the ground, taking in the shock on his face from her surprisingly strong grip and strength. It was then that he realized what had happened. "Akatsuki-san…"

"You underestimated me, Iida-san."

The boy simply pushed up his glasses on his face, surprise crossing his features. "In the beginning, you had looked nervous."

Rei shoved her hands into her pockets. "A farce. I wanted you to think that I wasn't confident."

Heaving a sigh, Iida shook his head, hand going to fix his hair. "I can't believe it. I had hoped to tell Nii-san that I was number one…"

Rei blinked, a trademark motion at this point. Awkwardly she patting his back, unsure of exactly how to console her classmate. "You fought well. Your offense was near unbreakable. It wasn't easy for me either."

He smiled reassuringly. "Well, I have no regrets about our fight. I have a lot to work on, going forward." Stepping away, he gestured robotically, seemingly back to normal. "Then, I will see you back in the bleachers!"

Watching her classmate's back draw further and further away, Rei gazed off blankly. "Yeah…"

Another fight. But Rei knew exactly what was next.

Going against that Todoroki wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

Rei had sat through Tokoyami and Ashido's matches, but just barely. Bakugou and Kirishima had barely walked out onto the field when she had stood up and walked away, the nerves in anticipation for her next match beginning to get to her. She had heard Yaoyorozu call after her in concern, but all voices went ignored as she made her way through the tunnels down to the base floor, trying to get away from the crowds. For most of the day she had watched everyone's matches with a sharp eye, all the while considering her next plan of attack for her other matches. But something about this was different. Locking herself in the waiting room, she stood at the doorway with her hands clenched.

She was nervous.

More than just nervous; she was like a ball of yarn that was a string of nerves, all wrapped and bundled together but ready to unroll at any moment. Her heart pounded in her chest, blood coursing much too quickly through her veins and her forearms, stomach tying into a knot. Her mind was scattered and hazy, barely able to contain a coherent thread as she stood there. Unable to keep her pent up energy in her body she began pacing around the room, all the while stretching her arms and beginning to go through her preparations, attempting to physically calm down while she thought of a plan.

If anything, Midoriya's fight had only made Rei panic more. Everyone knew that Todoroki never used his left side, and now she had a good idea why. He was so adamant to not becoming his father, the flame hero Endeavor, that he sought to suppress his abilities at every turn. He had told Midoriya that he sought to win the entire competition without the use of his left side. But during their battle, Midoriya had done something to provoke the half hot, half cold boy.

The question was, had it been enough to turn it on permanently?

If that was the case, then Rei was screwed. Absolutely screwed, in every way possible. In fact, there were almost no other ways that she could be even more screwed over; there was nothing worse than knowing that her opponent had a power that they never used, only to now know moments before their fight that it had been unleashed. Even moreso, Todoroki had control over it, or enough control to be an incredibly dangerous threat. Going into this fight, Rei had been absolutely certain that she was going to get screwed over by his ice powers, since they were beastly and provided a first line of defense that made close range combat next to impossible. But now that he had his flames…

No, she couldn't afford to think like that. She was panicking, and she had to calm down. Focusing on her breathing, she began to pace more slowly, stretching her arms over her chest as she began to warm up more earnestly. She had to make the most of this time. It was time to think logically and get back to the facts.

If Todoroki had been truly as adamant as he had declared himself to be during his conversation with Midoriya that she had eavesdropped upon, then Todoroki most likely hadn't used his flames by choice. It was possible, but not probable. Knowing the tension between the two boys, it was likely that Midoriya had explicitly done or said something to tip the boy over the line, in order to get him to use his flames. What that was, Rei wouldn't know. Uraraka had mentioned that Recovery Girl was in surgery with the boy in question, meaning that Rei wouldn't be able to get any answers in time. She was left to her reasoning and logic.

So her conclusion was that Todoroki was unlikely to use his flames again, although it was probably somewhere on the table as a desperation tactic. If they were competing in a scenario where his father was definitely watching, then Todoroki would want to shut his father down. If that was the case, then Rei was back to square one of fighting with the ice.

Which literally left her back at square one. All she had so far was that she couldn't allow that ice to touch her. If she was ensnared at all, she was a goner and would be immobilized on the spot. There was most likely a very, incredibly brief window of contact where she would be able to leap out of reach, but she couldn't rely on such things. Rei had to think of all contact as a no-go zone. Normally he liked to use his foot to guide his direction; she had seen it back in USJ and in battle training. In fact, he almost always preferred some sort of contact with the ground or other objects in order to begin creating ice, now that she thought about it. If that was the case, then he would be limited to attacks beginning on the ground, since the arena was flat.

Wiping a hand over her face, Rei groaned. Instead she started to stretch her legs out, bending over and feeling her calves burning ever so slightly as they began to warm up. If only she could continue flying in the air forever, like a bird. But even birds probably weren't insusceptible to Todoroki's ice. If she could fake a limb and detach it in the ice-

An idea flashed through her mind, but she stored it away for later. That would require a lengthy letter to a costume company to update her uniform, and would get her nowhere in this situation.

If that wasn't possible, then-

The door flew open.

It slammed against the wall, jolting Rei to her feet and causing her eyes to bug out in panic, looking to the entrance with a jumpiness at the sudden sound. The only thing she saw was a grumpy Bakugou, who almost looked just as surprised at her presence. He scowled, pressing in dangerous. "The hell are you doing in here?"

Rei blinked. "My match is next."

The blonde grumbled, swiping his phone from one of the tables and stuffing it in his pocket. Rei had expected him to storm out, but instead he turned toward her, looking her over in careful scrutiny. "You look terrible."

Scoffing, Rei clasped her elbows, hugging her arms close to her. She turned her head away, unable to meet his gaze. "I feel terrible. Don't make me feel worse."

"What, you at a loss for your next match?"

The black haired girl winced. "Just, not feeling as confident. I've been able to outsmart every opponent so far, but when there's a massive wall of ice in my way…" Her face dropped into a scowl at the mere thought, mind racing as she began to loop back through her plan of attack.

Silence. Shaking her head, she looked back to the boy. Her fears flew away for a moment as she studied his face carefully, watching his jaw twitch as he attempted to keep his face as smooth as possible. He was hiding something. To his fortune, she could guess exactly what was bothering him, seeing him try to subtly clutch his forearms and failing completely.

To his fortune, she was looking for a momentary distraction.

Scoffing, she rolled her eyes, walking over towards the grumpy blonde and extending her hand out. He looked at her suspiciously, but she simply rolled her eyes. "Give me your arm, dumbass."

He sneered again but handed his arm over. All haughtiness immediately stopped as she began pressing down on points on his arm, Bakugou no longer able to hide his wincing at the pain. Golden eyes flickered in empathy between his arm and his face, though she mostly kept her gaze down. "This'll hurt," she murmured in warning, beginning to press down on certain places in his forearms with her thumbs, running them up and down the muscles as she felt for all the sensitive places. Much to his credit he remained silent the entire time, the only difference his face contorting briefly as he attempted to keep the pain to himself.

"Quirks are physical abilities too," she quoted him from earlier. He looked surprised that she had remembered what he had said after Uraraka's loss when they were back in the bleachers, though the look was quickly wiped after Rei's fingers reached a particularly sensitive spot. But he accquiesed, allowing her to massage the pain out. By the time she finished they were still sore but felt noticeably looser, much to his surprise. Testing out his grip, he stared in wonder at the limb.

Rei crossed her arms. "You almost overdid it in your match with Uraraka. I'd do the other side, but I'm guessing my match is on soon. If you want, I'll fix it after I'm done, but go see Recovery Girl before your next match." Silence. Dropping her arms to her sides, she started for the door, walking through the frame and not bothering to close it behind her. There was nothing more for her here. Bakugou would likely take care of any stray ends in the room, if he was last.

"Akatsuki."

Freezing in place, she turned to look behind her. To her surprise, red eyes bored into her own, a fierce fire behind them, as though attempting to pass the flame to her. He clenched his hand into a fist as he stared into her eyes, face deadly serious but somehow serene.

"I'd better see you at the finals."

Of all people, the last person she had ever expected to hear encouraging her and cheering her on was the explosive Bakugou, a constantly scowling and grumpy presence that was ready to attack anyone who questioned or bothered him at all. Bakugou, who constantly vexed her and surprised her at every turn. The boy who made her stomach flip upside down and inside out, for reasons she couldn't quite figure out-or more realistically, for reasons she didn't want to face. But here he was, standing in front of her in the waiting room as the echoes of the screaming crowd drifted to her ears in the dark corridor, as though there was nothing beyond those four walls for them.

And in that moment, she believed him.

The corners of her lips quirking up, she scoffed and shook her head. "I'm not giving up."

"You better not," he countered, hands in his pockets. "I won't let anyone watch my back if they're gonna sulk all day."

Rei perked up at his words. Had he really said that? Did he believe it? Quietly, almost half to herself, she mused. "Do you mean it?"

Red eyes rolled. "Don't you have a fight to win first?"

It was enough to put her in better spirits, confidence returning where it had waned only minutes before. There was no choice; in the real world, she wouldn't be able to pick the villains she wanted to fight. There were things that had to be done simply because they needed to get done, and heroes had to pick up that mantle. This fight here would test what she was made of; heroes could get out of any situation, and they certainly wouldn't back down.

Nodding her head, gold eyes glittered. "Yeah."

* * *

Emerging through that tunnel, it was like the first time all over again.

"_It's the first fight of the semifinals! The story of the hero elite whose quirk can't be contained, versus the scrappy girl who's defying all odds to get here! On one side, it's the mysterious girl herself, Akatsuki Rei from the hero course! And on the other side, with fire and ice, it's Todoroki Shoto also from the hero course!"_

The roar of the crowd was ignored as the two of them made eye contact, the clashing resolves battling it out from the very beginning. Rei could see the anger still swirling in silver and cerulean eyes, the bitterness and determination that seeped through his body and lolled on the cement floor below them. There was something different about Todoroki, a tension that was threaded through his body. But now was not the time to contemplate the reasons; she was here to defeat her opponent, and that was that. Sliding into her stance, Rei flexed her hands as she waited for the command.

She would become a hero. She would not back down now.

Neither spoke a word. There was no need.

"_Match, start!"_

Both ice and girl moved instantaneously, the icy crystals jutting up dangerously but in large chunks. Rei wasted no time launching high into the air as soon as it got in her face, but much to her surprise the wall went up with her.

"_Right from the start, Todoroki builds a wall in front of Akatsuki, anticipating her incredible jumps!"_

Rei's eyes narrowed. Shit. He had read her further than she had read him. But there was no time to stop, only time to go forward. Without hesitation her nails shot out, digging into the barrier and immediately halting her descent. Using her grip she shot even higher into the air, wincing at the cold that had assaulted her fingertips. She had experienced it before during the obstacle race, but she hadn't ever expected to feel it again. It was to her fortune that Todoroki hadn't made the wall extremely tall, only halting at a height he believed could not be jumped.

Too bad he had been in front of her when she had scaled that robeast in the prelims. He hadn't seen what she was capable of. Otherwise, he would have tripled the height.

Flipping over the top, much to the enjoyment of the audience, she began to ride the wall down, eyes narrowed as she fought the wind. Immediately she could feel the ice beneath her feet acting up, forcing her to leap side to side in order to avoid the further obstructions. It was like running through the treetops and branches at the school, except this time the branches were ready to actively snare her ankles and limbs should they linger too long in any single spot.

Dancing through the tundra, she was constantly kept at distance. Both of them knew it. Every time she tried to advance closer, he would send a new barrier that would have her moving further to the side or backing away slightly. The battleground was looking more like the arctic, an icy wasteland with a small area around Todoroki that was moderately clear, a small layer of frost on the ground from where his feet directed his quirk. Rei began leaping through the air in an attempt to change things up, forcing her to think on her feet once her dodges to the side became too predictable. But at this rate, things were beginning to turn in her favor.

After one leap, Rei looked in satisfaction at Todoroki's small circle. The look she gave him was enough to tip him off to something, but he had already called an ice wave to follow her too quickly. His eyes widened before Rei disappeared from sight, and he realized just what she had been trying to do.

Rei jumped out to the fringes of the battle field, observing her work. She had noticed his arm covering in frost the more he had used it, his breath becoming even more strained and frosty. In the beginning she admittedly hadn't had much of a plan. She was a close range fighter, especially without her costume to give her long distance advantages, and she was fighting against a long range fighter who could endlessly keep her at bay. But she was nimble and quick on her feet, and she had fortunately been able to think one step ahead, even though she had been incredibly hard pressed.

She knew that Todoroki had been quick to push her away, doing everything to keep her at bay. She knew that he recognized her close range fighting abilities, and had likely tried to keep her on the fringes. When she approached him he had pushed her away, setting up barriers.

But barriers worked two ways. Rei knew that he was surrounded by a fortress of ice, with a miniscule window of light up to the top. He had essentially iglooed himself inside, and if Rei had guessed correctly about his quirk, he wasn't immune to the cold himself.

It would be a waiting game.

And Rei could wait.

The audience had devolved into murmurs, but Rei wouldn't let her guard up yet. Midnight looked unsure of what to do, what sort of calls to make. Even Present Mic sounded like he was out of ideas, everyone straining and watching to see what would happen next in the silence.

The sound of crackling first made its way to Rei's sensitive ears, and her eyes widened in response. She knew before anyone else what was happening, and she could only watch in horror as the ice burst at the top, Todoroki appearing on a wave of crystals as he flew up into the air, quickly descending on Rei's location.

The crowd cheered. Rei's heart dropped.

But there was no time to react. Seeing Todoroki's fast descent she jumped into the air, aiming for where he had been previously in the slope. With the smoothness of his path she had to dig her nails into the ice once again, clinging to the wall in desperation while looking around, trying to determine his next path. He merely lept to the ground near where she had just been, eyes glaring daggers in her direction as he began to move on the offensive again, shooting daggers of ice in her direction. This time they were thinner, more precise, and sharper looking than ever, ready to cut Rei up at a moment's notice. So he was growing tired, exhausting his supply. It wasn't infinite like most people assumed. He had a limit.

The problem was that Rei did as well. Leaping higher into the air she scaled the tower of ice, brain panicking now that she had been thrown off. What little plan she had created had been lain to waste in an instant. She had nothing left but instinct. And instinct told her first and foremost to run.

If Todoroki was growing tired, then Rei realized that her chance for close range combat was soon approaching. Soon she would be able to attack. Reaching the top of the ice block, she turned sharp on her heel, staring down at her target. He was hunched over, breathing hard, but still staring at her with a deadly look on his face. She was leaping into the air before she even realized it, instinct telling her that she could make the jump

Instinct forgot to remind her that Todoroki wasn't down for the count yet.

A final ice wall came barreling in her direction, and she was unable to stop it midair. Doing the only thing she could she braced herself for the impact, arms forming an "x" in front of her chest and face. It clipped her elbows, but it changed her direction just enough, throwing her off balance. Twisting in the air in panic, she tried to get her feet and hands below her so that she could catch herself and save her from the dive. But the icy wasteland was unforgiving, and most importantly, it wasn't flat. Her hands and feet were not the first to make contact.

There was a ripping sensation in her gut.

Rei heard a scream just as she was registering the pain, not even realizing that her mouth had opened until she inhaled from losing all of her breath. Trying to prop herself up, she felt the icy sting on her hands as she tried to push herself up from the ground. It was then that she saw the blood already pooling around her, brain trying to catch up with what had happened.

She was out before she even saw the icicle that was lodged inside her body.

* * *

"_This is the second time you didn't try to come here."_

… _Haru?_

"_Still, I'm proud of you. Though, I didn't realize it'd be this dangerous to become a hero."_

_Haru, wait._

"_I'll always wait for you, Rei. But you shouldn't be here. Not yet."_

_There's so much I want to tell you._

"_You have to go back, Rei."_

_Haru, I don't know what to do._

"_You better hurry, otherwise you'll get stuck here too."_

_I don't know what to do._

"_And stop coming to this place, okay? You make me worried every time…"_

_Haru, what should I do?_

"_I miss you, okay?"_

_I miss you too. Every day._

"_I believe in you. It's not just our dream anymore, right?"_

_Yeah. I've got that much figured out._

"_That's right. Just keep taking steps forward. It doesn't matter how big or how small."_

_Right. Because-_

"_It's not just our dream anymore-"_

_It's mine._

* * *

"Young Tokoyami, Young Akatsuki, congratulations. You both are very strong."

Rei bowed her head in acceptance of the bronze medal, trying her best not to involve her torso in the movement. It proved to be an impossible feat, and she winced at the pain as she felt the muscles stitching back together and straining under her movement. Recovery Girl had mentioned that she would be in quite a bit of pain for a while, but Rei hadn't quite realized what the lady had meant until she began moving around.

Core muscles sure got used in every movement, and Rei was painfully aware of the fact now that they had been completely shredded against their will, now working slowly to mend themselves even as Rei tried to push onward with the day.

"_My, my, I almost can't believe my own eyes. It's like your wound has healed all on its own."_

_The moment Rei regained consciousness she found herself in Recovery Girl's temporary wing, the woman standing over her prone figure. Confused, she looked over her body, blanching at the white bandages that were wrapped tightly over her stomach. _

_The pain, she remembered the pain-_

"_I remembered seeing something about regeneration in your quirk registry. But something tells me that that's not all."_

_Rei lowered her head in shame. Recovery Girl was sharper than she had originally given her credit for, which was a dangerous thing to do. For a minute they simply existed in silence, the nurse running other tests and cleaning up her work station. There were bloody gauzes and bandages on a tray to be tossed, instruments to be cleaned. All the while, Rei remained silent, until she could remain silent no longer._

"_Nine lives."_

_The older woman turned to her patient, curious but listening with a calm face. Rei's eyes glazed over as she looked at her bandages, seeing but unseeing at the same time. "That was the name of my quirk. It was simply given because they noticed that I had strong gracilis muscles in my legs and heightened senses, along others that identified me to be very cat like. Later, they thought it was regeneration," her voice dropped to a whisper, throat tightening. "But it's something worse."_

_At this the woman stopped her motions and came to sit at the bedside of the young girl, who trembled and shook at the memories. Her eyes no longer saw what was in front of her but the ghosts of the past, the things that haunted her when she closed her eyes at night. The tears could not be stopped. "Every time I die, I find that I can't. My body comes back to life. I can't…" She inhaled sharply, breath hitched. But it was too painful to hold back, the muscles in her stomach still weaving together. So she silently let the tears stream down her cheeks, closing her eyes and letting go. _

_The minutes ran by. Slowly, piece by piece, Rei began to stitch herself together. She let the tears run dry, closing the aquaducts and allowing her face to smooth over. A moment of release, only to build herself back up. Her mask fell into place, cold and removed, distant from the present moment while living in it all the while. Recovery Girl began to move again, but not before taking Rei's hand in hers and giving it a pat._

"_Only you are responsible for the grief you carry. You get to decide what you take and what you leave behind." Rei turned her head slowly, words filing into her head as she turned them over, examining them piece by piece. Shuzenji only gave a small, sad smile before squeezing her hand one last time and letting go. "The award ceremony will start when you're ready. Take your time."_

The medal fell around her neck, cold and weighty. Rei felt as though in that moment it could have dragged her neck down to the ground, back down to her knees. But All Might stepped forward to embrace her, Rei stiffening as he spoke into her ear.

"You fought admirably, even in spite of your limitations. I'm sure that now you recognize where your abilities lie, and what you must train next in order to overcome them."

The man pulled away, and Rei stared for a moment before bowing her head. "Yes, sensei."

The world seemed to pass into a blur as she stared at the medal for a while, then looking out to the crowd. In the distance she could see her classmates, each of them watching attentively and hopefully. She saw Midoriya standing among them, both arms in slings. The two of them made eye contact, a hopeful yet strained smile on his face as he looked at Rei. She thought it strange, but didn't think anything further of it. He was probably just tired from recovering and from the day.

If she was honest, so was she. So exhausted, she barely even noticed Bakugou throwing a fit next to her as All Might placed the medal on his head, eventually letting him clamp onto it with his teeth as the boy seethed. From the other side of Tokoyami she didn't want to lean forward or backward to rely on her stomach muscles, so she simply listened to his tirade with half an ear.

Nothing had come out as she had expected. The only constant here had been Bakugou, who had only that morning made his declaration to be number one. Rei had planned that morning to stay in the middle of the pack, to be average, to do well but not too well. Somewhere in all of that, she found that her resolve had changed. She had shifted to aim for the top, not to settle for the semifinals, but to go all the way to the top. Deep down, she had truly wanted to meet Bakugou at the finals, and Rei had to admit that there was a piece of her that was disappointed.

But there was a medal on her neck. Wasn't that more than what she had originally expected? That was the biggest sign that something had changed. She had changed. And Rei had to admit that she realized that now, she was going to continue changing.

It wasn't just the dream she and Haru had shared as children.

Rei was going to make it her own.

* * *

AN: Just a warning, but updates will be coming out a bit more slowly for a while.

I've decided to add in a bunch of stuff (which I'm gonna keep a secret so you can be surprised), but it needs to get inserted between chapters that I've already written. I hope you'll be looking forward to it! I'm excited.

**And thank you to:**

**Ansegiel**, for constantly reviewing. I'm happy you enjoy Rei and Bakugou so far!

**Boooop: **I usually don't put too many cliffhangers in, since I'm bad about intentionally writing them, but when I do... :) Haha thank you!

**Scarlett: **I will do my best to keep updating! I'm bad about regular posting schedules, so please bear with me!

**HellToTheNo123: **I'm glad you like it! Short reviews are very motivating for me, so thanks for this little note :)

**And The Others Laugh: **Man, I know we've already had a few conversations behind the scenes, but thank you thank you thank you for your thoughts. Please enjoy the next few chapters!

And thanks to everyone else who has reviewed so far!


	10. Flashback: Entrance Exam

Chapter 10

Flashback: Entrance Exam

* * *

_**The day of U.A.'s Entrance Exam**_

_**Some time in early March**_

* * *

_**Reinananana (7:31 AM)  
**__Do your best today! I'll be cheering for you 3  
__Let's go to the cafe when you're done!_

Rei couldn't help but smile at her phone as she sat on the train, shooting off a text of her own in reply. The day had finally come; she had finished the placement tests for Ketsubutsu and Seiai, since they had been earlier in the month. They had been a breeze, and both Reina and Rei were confident that she had passed with flying colors. But that only meant that the hardest test was ahead of her, and along with it, the school where she truly was aiming to be.

As good as Ketsubutsu and Seiai were, no hero school could compare to U.A., and Rei had had it drilled into her head that she would prepare for the worst but aim for the best. Confidence in her abilities without getting cocky. Keeping a level head without losing herself to despair. It was a mental game that she had been playing for the past three years, and now she would be put to the test.

_**Kuromam-ei (7:33 AM)  
**__I've got it in the bag  
__I want two chocolate croissants today :3_

It was a cool but beautiful day as Rei stepped off the train and down the streets, making her way to the campus as silvery grey clouds drifted overhead. Her shaggy, pixie cut hair ruffled in the breeze, blowing black strands in every direction. Deep down she had a good feeling about today, but she wasn't about to get ahead of herself. Climbing the steps to U.A. she breathed a sigh of relief when she reached the top, looking around to see that people were already meandering around, a bunch of signs directing traffic toward registration. With purposeful steps she entered the building, making her way to the tables to sign in.

"Well, well, if it isn't Kumo City's biggest disappointment."

Stiffening at the voice, Rei refused to turn around. Her feet had hesitated at the statement, but she forced herself to keep walking. Not today; she wouldn't give them the time. This was her time. She knew exactly who it was, not just from their voice but from the crazy declarations the boy had made for the past month about getting into U.A. and being the best from their middle school. There was no point in giving him the satisfaction of letting him see her face, her resolve that for a moment, had wavered just a tiny bit. Instead she kept her head trained forward, refusing to turn around. She would let them talk, just as she had for the past three years.

"You think you can get in, Akatsuki? U.A. is an elite school for training heroes, not dirty street whores looking for a bit of cash. You'd only be a disappointment. I can't wait for them to see that for themselves."

There were other voices that chimed in with laughter, at least two others, and Rei could pinpoint exactly who they were. Ishihara and his gang were insufferable, and no matter how many times Rei had beaten them to a pulp they kept coming back for more, knowing that in the end the administration was in the pockets of their wealthy parents. Compared to her, who had nothing, it was a cakewalk for the troublemakers. Money sometimes spoke louder than words, if you had enough to silence those with weaker wills.

"Hey, Akatsuki, you think anyone would want you, with your record? You're not a hero. You might as well go play with the villains so that I can have the satisfaction of putting your ass in prison."

Her fists balled tightly, only provoking them further. By the time she stepped forward in the line to check in she could barely open her mouth, her jaw tight from keeping it clenched the entire time to prevent her from mouthing off. Thankfully the man signing her in said nothing, remaining cordial and impassive as ever. She was grateful, turning away and walking toward the testing hall. But she had to pass by those ingrates, who leered at her as she began to walk by.

"Oi, you suddenly think you're better than us, you trash?"

"You're a real bitch, you know that?"

"Can't wait to see her face when she gets rejected."

"Oh, but isn't she a reject anyway? She should be used to that."

The noise they made was beginning to draw more attention, more and more eyes landing on the group and on the girl that simply walked away with a blank look on her face, ignoring the comments and jeers that she received. There was confusion, disbelief, disgust, and suspicion from the entire engagement as people looked at the situation unfolding. But most of all, there was interest at the one who seemed to float above it all, a picture of calm as she gracefully weaved through the crowd with a disengaged look on her face, as though the voices didn't even register. She was above it all, and strangers couldn't help but watch in awe at her raw determination and grace.

They marveled as they watched a heart in the process of breaking, the hurt and raw fury that was simultaneously mixing with her composure to create a complex caricature of a raging angel whose power lingered dangerously close by.

She finally made her way into a smaller corridor, following smaller signs that directed the prospective students towards the auditorium. There were fewer and fewer people now that she was away from the registration room, in addition to the fact that it was still incredibly early. With fewer people to stare at her Rei sighed to herself. She had survived. Hopefully their paths wouldn't cross again for the rest of the day; there were enough people taking the test that it was possible, although with her luck there was still the improbability that she would be left alone.

"Ah, Akatsuki-san!"

Slowly Rei turned around at the feminine voice, blinking as she saw another one of her middle school classmates approaching her. The girl was running toward her in an attempt to keep up, panting slightly at the exertion. She halted in front of Rei, clutching her belongings as her cheeks flushed. "I just… wanted to say, good luck today!"

Rei blinked. It was then that the girl's name came to her, a studious and bright personality that sat at the front of the classroom. "Bara-san."

"Ishihara's just jealous that you're here too. Don't pay attention to him."

Rei wanted to laugh at it all. Don't pay attention to the boy who had been tormenting her since she had entered grade school? It was laughable. How could she ignore all the things he had done to her, had done to Haru, the ways that he had made her life difficult and had laughed? Of all the people here, Ishihara and his group deserved to be heroes the least. It made Rei's blood boil, Bara's comment only making things worse in her mind. She wanted to scream, to punch someone, to completely deck Ishihara and wipe that smug look off his face. But she couldn't. She had promised Reina.

But in the end, she had to be grateful to the girl who had stepped up to speak with her, if only for Reina's sake. Her mentor would scold her later if she found out that Rei was rude to someone who only had good intentions. Rei knew that she was intimidating, most people keeping away from her at all costs. But Bara had stepped forward to wish her luck, to attempt to invalidate what had been so noisily shouted at her in the foyer, airing her business to the world. So she swallowed her pride and her rage, and simply nodded. "Good luck, Bara-san." Her internal thoughts would be just that: kept to herself. She would carry on, as she had always done. Alone.

The girl jumped at Rei's well-wishes, both knowing that Rei preferred to be left alone in all circumstances, never engaging with anyone in their class. She had been shocked not just that Rei had remembered her name, but that she had said something positive to her. Bara smiled sheepishly, rocking on her heels. "R-right. Good luck to you too, Akatsuki-san."

With a curt nod Rei turned on her heel, walking into the auditorium to find her seat. Considering the size of the room, it wasn't terribly difficult, what with everything being so clearly labeled. Sitting down and pulling out her materials, she began to focus. Good karma, bad karma, and everything in between. She would be lying if she said that Ishihara's comments hadn't gotten to her in some way, their words reminding her with a sting that she wasn't of their ilk, never quite belonging to society. Would she be able to fit in if she became a hero?

That was a stupid question; of course she would. She deserved to be there. She had worked just as hard, if not harder, than most people in this room just to get the chance to prove that she deserved to belong. If she became a hero she could become a beacon for others just like her, to prove that they didn't have to crawl back into the darkness and take life lying down. If one orphan could do it, couldn't others as well? That was the future Rei wanted, to lay down the foundation for others who would surely come after her. But first, she had to take this step and seize the opportunity in her hands. She had to make this dream come true.

Golden eyes harded. She could do this.

* * *

"Everybody say 'hey!'"

Silence. No one in the auditorium even flinched, hundreds of eyes staring forward blankly. To be fair, they had just taken a grueling written exam, leaving heads swirling with overload as they attempted to figure out just what was going on. Rei was one of them. Leaning forward on her desk and propping her chin up on her hand, she watched Present Mic attempt to rally the entire assembly, only to fail.

To be honest, he was a little too loud for Rei's liking, particularly in this moment, but mentally she felt as though she had just been bludgeoned with questions and papers and ink. Unable to produced a refined answer, she simply stared forward like most people, in an academic stupor.

He muttered briefly to himself, but seemed to collect his wits and continue. "Then, I'll quickly present a rundown of the practical exam! Are you ready?!"

At this Rei sat up straighter in her seat. Her head cleared slightly at the anticipation of the practical exam, knowing that the next pieces of information presented would be crucial. This was what she had been hoping for, the one part that she knew was her time to shine. Even as the room continued to be silent there was an energy that began ramping up, excitement and nerves coming back to the forefront at the mention of the second half of the exam.

"As it says in the requirements, you listeners will be participating in ten-minute mock urban battles after this! You can bring whatever you want with you. After the presentation, you'll head to your specified battle station, okay?!"

Above his head on the screen, an image of seven battlestations appeared on a graphic, labeled from "a" through "g." Picking up the card she had received at registration, she looked it over. _Battle Zone G, huh?_

Present Mic continued as the crowd began to look at their cards, determining where they would be and comparing them to friends that sat nearby. "Three different types of faux villains are stationed in every battle center. You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty. Your goal is to immobilize the villains using your quirks and to gain points! Of course, attacking other examinees and any other heroic actions are strictly prohibited."

Sitting back in her chair, Rei folded her arms over her chest, processing the information as it came. Judging how many people were in the room and how many battle stations there were, it looked as though there would be at least twenty or so people in each section. There was no way to know how many faux villains there were in each site, and if they had to explicitly state that attacking other examinees was prohibited…

Then it would likely be a bloodbath to get the most points.

From what she could tell, the test thus far didn't give any one type of quirk an advantage. Offensive quirks would clearly be useful for taking the enemies down, but if they were unable to scout the terrain and find the enemies they would have a hard time. Additionally the terrain would be difficult to get through if one was limited to just the streets. Maneuverability was a key factor here as well.

But people with a quirk that had neither offensive capabilities, maneuverability, scouting, or even defensive abilities were going to be at a severe disadvantage. What would happen to them? Rei didn't give much more thought; she was balanced enough to both scout and attack. At least she wasn't disadvantaged like those people. She would just need to come up with a plan of attack then.

"Excuse me! May I ask a question?"

Raising an eyebrow, Rei turned to watch as a spotlight turned on a blue haired boy who stood rigidly from his seat. After receiving the "okay" from Present Mic, he gestured to the printout that they all had been given. "On the printout, there are four types of villains. If that is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of such a foolish mistake!"

He continued to tout on about something, but Rei only twitched away from his loud, projecting voice and rolled her eyes. "Shut up," she muttered under her breath, "Present Mic isn't done explaining. Pretentious ass rich kid."

She heard snickers from the other students immediately in her area, and her lip twitched in amusement. She hadn't really intended for other people to hear her, but it was apparent that her sentiment was shared; people who were seeking out the errors and interrupting before a full explanation was finished were clearly seeking attention and didn't actually care about the big picture. Interruptions were almost always personal and foolish. But the laughing was soon smothered, no one else wanting to draw attention to themselves in such a large auditorium. Now wasn't the time to be noticed. They could wait fifteen minutes for that.

"Okay, okay, examinee 7111. Thanks for that." The screen behind Present Mic shifted, a different type of enemy appearing on the screen with a zero hovering above its figure. "The fourth type of villain is worth zero points. That guy's an obstacle, so to speak. There's one in every battle center, a type that'll go crazy in narrow spaces. It's not impossible to defeat, but there's no reason to defeat it either. I recommend that you try and avoid it."

Rei scowled. A moving obstacle made sense. But why term it a "villain" if it was simply an obstacle? Something wasn't adding up, but it wasn't important enough for Rei to question further. If it had no point value, then Present Mic was right; why go after it if it didn't help your overall score? It was enough for Rei, and she settled back into her seat, satisfied with her own reasonings.

"Alright, so that's all from me. Finally, I'll give you listeners a present; our school motto." Everyone seemed to perk up at this mention; most everyone already knew the school motto, but to hear it in this space was completely different. "Napoleon Bonaparte once said: a true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes. Go beyond, Plus Ultra!"

A shiver ran down Rei's spine as the screen flashed behind Present Mic. This was what she was here for. She watched as a gleam came into his eye as he leaned over the podium at the front.

"Now, good luck suffering."

* * *

After changing out of their school uniforms and into their spare sets of clothes, everyone had taken various buses to their respective battle stations. To Rei's dissatisfaction she had been off in her estimates; there were more than thirty people in each battle station, with everyone broken up seemingly in random patterns. More people meant more competition. But to her luck, Rei was able to find a seat to herself on the bus, stewing in her thoughts instead of being forced to make meaningless conversation with a stranger who would be her competition.

The drive had been somewhat short, with the battle station being relatively close to the test center. Stepping off the bus, Rei felt slightly self conscious in comparison to everyone. Almost everyone else wore cohesive ensembles and gym uniforms of high quality, truly a testament to everyone's background or to their school prestige. Once again she felt intimidated, dressed only in a black tank top and black leggings, her normal boots on her feet. She felt plain compared to everyone else, hugging her arms to her chest in discomfort as she disembarked from their transport, staring at the massive gates that blocked the way into the battle zone. At least no one seemed to point her out or make fun of her. Everyone was too engrossed in their own preparations to care.

The group fell into hushed chatter, some people striking up conversations as they waited while others began to focus, calming themselves. Rei stood at the side of the group, beginning to stretch out her arms and legs by doing some jumping jacks and squats. No one bothered with her, a sort of respect being maintained for whatever each person needed to do in order to get ready. For five minutes she simply stretched and calmed her mind, reviewing the plan she had created on the bus on the way over.

This test came down to offense and defense. She had done a rough headcount on the bus, with about thirty five students in the battle center with her. Everyone would be eager to get started, meaning that there would likely be a rush into the center. From there things would devolve into a free for all, chasing after targets in order to land the finishing blows.

Rei had decided to avoid the main group. She would climb over the buildings and get ahead of the group, allowing them to focus on the faux villains nearest the door. If she got just ahead of them to where they didn't notice her presence, then she could take out the next line of villains without them realizing it. She could then spread out from there, instantly taking the majority and getting the first picks.

It was selfish, but she needed this, more than anything.

The handout had stated that there were roughly the same number of each type of villains, meaning that if Rei could get ahead she would have the first picks. She wanted to prioritize the three point targets in order to ensure that she racked up the highest points while keeping everyone to the lower points. It wasn't enough to warrant avoiding the one or two point targets, but she had to prioritize. Ten minutes wasn't the greatest amount of time, and she wouldn't have time to linger.

"Okay, start!"

The group looked confusedly around at Present Mic's announcement, but Rei had seen the doors begin to open. Without hesitation she bolted for the door, slipping through and beginning the test. Every second counted. She could hear his voice even as she pulled away from the rest of the group, who was still standing in a stupor. "What's wrong? There's no countdowns in real fights! Run, run, run!"

By the time Rei could hear the shuffling of footsteps as people ran into the battle center, she had already come across the first wave of villains. With a maniacal grin she extended her nails, hard talons that had been sharpened and polished the night before. Hurdling over the lower point villains she aimed straight for the three point target. _You're mine_.

The machines were slow, that much was for sure. Rei landed solidly on top of the three point villain, not even hesitating as she shredded through the metal plating on top of its head. Reaching a greedy hand in she gave a hard tug on the wires, ripping them out viciously and grinning as the machine fell to the ground, powered down completely. Her easy success made her blood pump even faster, exhilaration and adrenaline coursing through her body and almost making her vibrate in anticipation. Three points in the first minute. She could do this.

Turning away she leapt into the sky, leaping onto a short three story building and taking off over the rooftops, scaling some of the taller buildings as she began to survey the land. For the most part from what she could see from the higher vantage point, the villains were starting in pods, clusters of a few one points, a couple two points, and one or two three point robots. Ignoring the next cluster that was ahead on the road she scampered over the buildings, making her way down another main street far away from where she heard the other students fighting for domination. Already they were chomping at the bit, arguing over who got to destroy which machine and who had called dibs. But that was the wrong bit to chomp at.

Idiots. But some other students were beginning to scout as well, scaling the tall buildings and making Rei's eyes narrow as she glanced at the competition. So others had similar ideas as her. She would have to be fast.

Landing down on the ground once again, she grimaced as the impact shattered the cement below her feet, the vibrations of the impact running up her legs. Immediately the faux villains turned on her, beeping wildly at her approach. The closest was a one-pointer, who went on the offensive, charging wildly as he sped toward Rei. Taking up the challenge she sprinted forward, launching into the air and delivering an airborne kick into the pivot point, right where the body attached to the wheel it rode on. It collapsed, unable to move as Rei plunged her hand in once again to the mechanics, tearing out the insides and watching in satisfaction as it sizzled, powering down. Another point for her, but the others were coming in quick now.

Dodging one of the four arms of the two point villain she slid underneath the body, shredding a cavity into its core before mangling the cords within. She barely ran away before it fell down, nearly dropping on top of her in the process. Gritting her teeth she took off toward the three pointer, going for the head again like she had done the first time. Rei was finally getting into the swing of things, senses keeping her alert to any incoming blows. A two point villain came hurtling toward her as she stood atop the three point villain, disassembling the creation but unable to finish in time. At the last second she jumped into the air, watching in surprise as the two pointer continued to ram into its companion, taking it out with ease. The three pointer shuddered to halt, red eyes dimming as it died.

So it wasn't impossible to get them to hurt one another, if she timed it right. Without hesitation she moved to clear out the final few points, wiping the group with a sigh. Her arm muscles were starting to cramp; most of her training involved running and using her legs, her most powerful assets. She would have to think a little smarter if she wanted to endure the rest of this test.

Launching back into the air, she began scouting for her next targets. By this point the main group of test takers had begun dissipating through the battle center, spreading out over the urban landscape and running amok almost like the villains themselves. The scene was rapidly descending into chaos, a madness overtaking everyone as they fought for points, even amongst themselves. Turning away, Rei continued to sweep the perimeter, looking for her next targets

By her estimation there had to be a few waves that were yet untouched. Others with quirks for scouting had similar ideas as Rei, breaking away from the main group on the ground and going after clusters on their own before the others had a chance to reach them. Seeing a group off to the far right Rei took off in a sprint. If she hurried, she would have time to take them all out before anyone else came, greatly increasing her point count.

"_Five minutes left!"_

It was her lucky day; what appeared in front of her was not just a small wave, but a long line of two and three point villains. With a grin she rushed forward, placing herself in the middle of the pack and allowing them to draw their eyes on her, watching in satisfaction as they changed their direction and immediately began hurtling toward her at top speed. Shortly before impact she leapt into the air, watching as they collided in confusion. Wash, rinse, repeat. Smashing through their armor and ripping them apart, her count was beginning to steadily climb.

"Oi, over there!"

Standing on top of the pile of robot bodies, Rei wiped the sweat from her brow as a small group of boys made their way over to her. They suddenly stopped in shock as she jumped down, walking their way. One of them took a step forward, his eyes wide in what seemed to be a combination of surprise and fear. "Impossible, all of them… are finished? You did this?"

Rei scowled. "And what of it?" Her voice was biting, angry that the group was now slowing her down. Pushing through the group, the boys jumped out of her way, clearing a path as she strode away from the carnage, boots clicking on the ground.

"Incredible. You're super strong, aren't you?"

"She's definitely going to make it into the hero course. She took all those three pointers down herself?"

"Woah, incredible!"

Compliments were not what she was expecting. Pausing, she blinked in surprise as she turned toward them. For a moment she was silent, but she pulled herself together. "There's no other enemies in this section. I suggest you look elsewhere." Turning away coldly, she looked down the street. It was wide enough to be considered a main street, and sure enough a large number of people could be seen taking out the enemies on the other side. The five minute mark had passed a while ago, making sense of why everyone had suddenly caught up to her. Golden eyes narrowed. She was at thirty-six points, a considerable amount but surely not enough. She had to look for new targets, and fast.

Suddenly the ground began to rumble, forcing Rei to freeze in her tracks. What was the source of this? Turning to look behind her, her face paled in horror and fear.

At the end of the street, high above their heads, a new robot peered down at them with horrifying malice.

Was that even possible, for a robot to contain such evil? They were robots, not humans. But its hands crushed the buildings next to it as it began to make its way down the street, and Rei couldn't help but see a glimmer of insanity in its red dotted eyes. Screams could be heard from further down the street as debris began to crash in front of her. The boys near her shrieked, running away as fast as they could. Rei began to back away with them, eyes looking up into the sky, but for a moment she looked back down at the ground, eyes widening further.

One of the boys, the one with blonde hair, continued to stand, his back facing Rei as he stared up. The debris was falling fast. Rei screamed. "Get out of there!" But he did nothing, frozen in place as the robot began making its way down the street, drawing closer and closer.

She could hear people yelling in her direction, but her hands clenched tight. A chunk of a building fell from above, making the ground tremble and knocking the boy off balance, sending him into the ground. He fell on his rear, still frozen in horror. All the while, the robot continued to advance.

"_Two more minutes!"_

Surely the robot would ignore the boy who had been taken down. This was a test. No one could get seriously hurt. But red eyes looked down at the prone figure, a hand beginning to reach out slowly, descending faster and faster.

It was going to grab him.

She could hear the boys shouting for their companion behind her.

Scream. Chaos.

It wasn't going to stop. The robot was actually going to crush that boy.

Rei clenched her hands, shooting forward.

She couldn't let that happen.

Wasn't she trying to become a hero? Wasn't that what heroes did? It wasn't just about fighting villains and restoring peace. It was about saving people like Haru, the people who couldn't fight. Her mind was made up, even as her feet tried to keep her back.

"Shit."

Everyone had watched in horror as the robot had extended its hand, reaching out to grab the person below. The fear kept them rooted in place, as all they could do was watch the inevitable happen. But suddenly it froze, hands attempting to grasp something but unable to fully close.

Rei groaned, turning her head back to the boy she had covered. He stared back in surprise, golden eyes somewhat hazed over, as though unable to process everything. But he seemed to jolt enough back into the present moment when Rei's eyes met his own, seeing the grimace on her face as she held back the massive fist. Groaning, she glared daggers at the boy. "Get… out of here."

He scrambled as best he could, still looking slightly dazed. The hand began to withdraw, robot eyes tracking the intended target as it began to run away. But Rei latched onto the hand, weaving through the chunky fingers to the back of the palm, digging her nails into one of the digits and ripping it apart. A finger fell to the floor as the hand began to rise, snatching the robot's attention as it looked to its newest opponent.

Rei was ready to run. She wanted nothing to do with this beast. She had to get more points. But she had watched as the boy had wandered slowly away, not fully functioning for whatever reason. He had seemed mentally fried, quite literally, and she wondered just what was wrong with him. Was he so terrified that he had frozen in fear? But the golden haired and eyed boy wasn't the only one though. Other students still were frozen in the street, well within reach of the zero pointer, and subsequently in the danger zone.

Rei shouted as loud as she could, anger in her voice. "Run! Don't stand there, you asswipes!"

It seemed like her words had been effective, no matter how vulgar (although that was potentially a factor that helped snapped everyone from their stupor), the entire street beginning to move again as everyone scampered to get out of harm's way. The movement was enough to agitate the massive villain again, but Rei simply tore off another finger with a growl. She didn't want to fight this. But she had to distract it long enough so that everyone could get out of harm's way.

For her pride. She had gone this far, and she wouldn't turn back. How could she be a hero if she didn't see things through? Images of Ishihara and his gang spitting cruel words at her filled her mind and her rage. She wasn't a nobody. She could do all the things that even they couldn't, including taking down the monstrosity that threatened their existence in this setting. She could do it, because she was her.

Or perhaps she was a nobody, and because of that she had nothing to lose.

By now the zero point robot had turned its full attention onto her, other arm now swiping down at her with alarming speed. Jumping out of the way and climbing onto the other arm, she began to quickly scale the robot, using her claws as anchoring points as she aimed for the head. This thing was on a whole other level, compared to the other three robots in the test. How could this thing even move that fast, what with how large it was? Wasn't that physically impossible? She was hard pressed to dodge while simultaneously climbing up the arm, leaping through the air and switching between appendages in order to escape its furious movements as robotic hands tried to snatch her out of the air. But seeing an opportunity open up she jumped onto its head, sinking her claws into the top of the creature. It stopped moving, slowly lowering its arms down in confusion.

It had lost her. Rei grinned. Shredding open the head she began clawing at various mechanics, listening to the confused whirring as the visual receptors started frying. So obsessed in trying to find a way to dismantle it and destroy every operation, Rei hadn't realized that she had begun crossing into dangerous territory until she heard a hissing noise. By then it was too late.

The machine exploded in her face, sending her skyrocketing into space and sailing through the air. Multiple explosions followed, the frame of the robot locking up before loosely sagging. It had been dismantled, damaged enough so it was no longer able to focus or carry out basic operations. But Rei was unable to see a thing, so focused on trying to survive the launch that she turned away from the faux villain.

Thankfully she had been tossed to the side, a high rooftop coming into view. She rolled onto the ground in an attempt to prevent herself from slamming directly into the surface and potentially breaking anything else, but she felt her shoulder pop out of place. Clenching her teeth she shrieked, tears immediately coming to her eyes at the pain. Rolling to a stop she laid on her back, staring at the sky through glassy eyes.

"_Time's up!"_

She couldn't stop the tears rolling from her eyes. Pain. Excruciating, physical pain. But not only that. Her pride had gotten in the way of her objective, where she should have been looking for points instead of fights that wouldn't take her anywhere. Disappointment and shame flooded her system. What would Reina say?

For a few minutes she simply laid there, the pain and a lack of desire preventing her from rising. She was barely aware of her surroundings when the medical robots came to wheel her away, taking her down and out of the building and through the streets, all the way back to the entrance. The world passed in a blur of pain, voices phasing in and out of her head. She couldn't understand anything, not even bothering to care until a particular head popped into her vision, an older woman with a purple visor coming into view. "My, my. You've really done a number on yourself, haven't you?" Rei only flinched as she briefly prodded her arm, but it was immediately followed by a loud pop. This time she couldn't restrain from the cry that left her throat, the pain bringing tears to her eyes once again.

Someone helped her to sit up, and suddenly her left arm was in a sling, the right hand holding onto a handful of candies. Confusedly she looked up, right into the face of the elder woman. It was then that Rei made the connection. "Recovery Girl."

"That's right." The older woman smiled gently, patting her right hand. "Eat up, it'll help recover your strength."

Rei followed the command, tentatively crunching on the candies before determining that they were actually chewable and chomping away. They were an odd mixture of bitter and sweet, making her swallow hard and grimace at the aftertaste. Shuzenji only smiled knowingly, backing away from her and gesturing for her to stand up. "It'll take a few days for your arm to heal on its own. Be sure to rest up and ice the muscles as soon as you get home. You'll want to start moving it in a few days, but not before them."

Blinking, Rei looked away. "Thanks." Standing up she gave a small, awkward bow to her elder before following the rest of the crowd, everyone patched up and heading back for the buses. Falling into the back without anyone really noticing her, she paused for a moment before turning around, looking down the street one final time.

The zero point robot was in shreds, lying haphazardly in the streets. A behemoth, but felled eventually. Had she really done that? Her mind was hazy, the past few minutes blurring together as she tried to recall everything that happened, but the adrenaline was wearing off now. Left with nothing much but exhaustion and an arm in a sling to tell of her battles, she turned around and walked toward the exit. She would have to process this all later. There was much to talk with Reina about when this was finally over.

The last one onto the bus, she sat in the front row, fortunately on her own once more. She sat silently, brooding over everything that had happened while the rest of the bus conversed, a dull hum filling the air. What would happen now? Would she make it? She had felt as though she had done decently on the entrance exam, but she wasn't sure if thirty-seven points was enough to make it. The score, if anything, felt average, nothing outstanding. Disappointed, she hung her head. Average wouldn't be enough for U.A..

All she could do now was wait.

* * *

As soon as she made it back to the main campus she hustled off on her own, gathering her belongings in the locker room quickly and not bothering to change back into her school uniform, instead heading off on her own. She was over it. She just wanted to get back to Reina, who would surely have some words of comfort and assurance for her. She wanted a coffee and a chocolate croissant. Rei wanted that reassurance, that even if this path didn't open up, she wasn't a failure. Walking out of the front gates, she pulled out her cellphone, punching in a message.

**Kuromam-ei (3:58 PM)  
**_Omw back. I'm gonna need 3 croissants _

All the way back, she held the phone in her hand, waiting for a response. To her surprise, nothing came in. Was Reina just waiting at the orphanage? Still, it was unlike her to not respond, even with something as small as a little emote. Shaking her nerves off as coming from her disappointment from the exam, Rei brushed off her doubts. Everything would be fine.

With as much of a spring in her step as she could muster despite the gloom and doom in her mind and the aching shoulder, Rei quickly made her way back to the orphanage. The other middle schoolers weren't home yet, only some of the younger kids playing in the front yard. They greeted her enthusiastically, some trying to swing from her free arm even as she gently brushed them aside. For the first time that afternoon a small smile came back to her face.

"Ne, nee-san, did you make it?"

"Of course she did, stupid. It's Rei-nee!"

"Stupid yourself, stupid!"

"What happened to your arm?"

They swarmed around her, making it almost impossible to move through the huddle. Slowly Rei shuffled forward, warding them off from her injury. "It's just a shoulder injury. It'll be fine."

"Does it hurt?"

"Ehh? You got hurt today?"

"Was the test really hard?"

Shaking her head, she ushered them away. "I'll tell you all about it at dinner tonight, okay?" With their hearts satisfied for the moment they cheered, turning back to their business and playing amongst themselves once more. It was enough space for Rei to sneak through the door, removing her shoes quickly and wandering through the hallways in confusion.

Reina was nowhere in sight. Turning into the kitchen, Rei found the director clutching the phone to her ear, a severe expression on her face. Urahara Sho, the woman who held the orphanage together with hard work, discipline, and love; she was a strong woman whose rigid nature made her both intimidating yet a person whom everyone wanted to please. Still, Rei had never seen such a look on her face, hanging up the phone after muttering a few more things into the receiver. Stepping forward tentatively, Rei peered around the corner. "Urahara-san?"

The woman snapped her head up, a movement that immediately had Rei suspicious. She was not easily startled; something was clearly wrong. Turning to face the dark haired girl, Urahara leaned on the counter. "Rei-chan, I'm afraid it's bad news."

Stomach dropping, Rei looked in confusion, the fear beginning to blossom in her chest again. Swallowing hard, she tried to steel her resolve for what came next.

Nothing could have prepared her, not all the time in the world.

"Reina-san… was in a major car accident on her way here. I'm afraid she's in the hospital."

* * *

She hadn't believed it. She didn't want it to be true.

But now that she was looking through the window of the hospital room, Rei was forced to come face to face with the reality.

Urahara had escorted Rei herself to the hospital, knowing that they would not let a child unaccompanied into the building. Rei was on the edge of being a high school student, so she was almost old enough to go into the hospital on her own, but with no familial connections to the woman currently inside the hospital it would have been difficult to get close. Urahara had explained things as patiently as she could to the receptionists before they finally admitted the two, handing over visitor passes that they hung over their necks before flying as fast as they could down the hallways. The nurses had been rather helpful, throwing pitying looks to the two who looked rather frazzled, leading them to the room where Reina lay. It was all they could do to let the two stand outside the room, looking through the glass and trying to sort their emotions.

The orphanage director had left for the bathroom, muttering something softly to Rei before leaving the young girl alone for a moment. It mattered little to her. Her mind was strangely blank, brain trying to comprehend what her eyes were seeing. This wasn't supposed to happen; they were supposed to be sitting in their favorite cafe, gorging themselves on pastries while Rei complained about the test. They were supposed to analyze what she had done. Reina was supposed to say something to help her feel better about the exam, give a word of encouragement that she had done her best. Knowing what Reina would have said didn't make it any easier, not when she was lying on a bed ten feet away and looking like she was sitting on death's doorway.

Two sets of footsteps came up next to her, the clicking of heels forcing her to look up. A man and a woman, both dressed sharply in business clothes stood next to Rei, not bothering to look at the girl. It wasn't until nearly a minute later that the woman looked down disdainfully on Rei, filling the young girl with an equal amount of spite in her chest. It apparently showed, as the woman sneered. "And what are you doing here? What connection do you have with our daughter?"

Rei had often wondered what kind of mother Reina had. She had never ever really mentioned her parents, only very sparingly when the topic came up. Rei knew that Reina's relationship with her parents was strained, and she had always wondered why. But with one look, Rei immediately got a read. First impressions were important, and Rei couldn't shake the feeling of unease and disgust at this first meeting. But she forced herself to drop her head respectfully, hair hiding her expression enough to give her time to recompose herself. These were Reina's parents, and she would do her best to be respectful. "Akatsuki Rei, ma'am. Reina is my mentor."

"Reina, is it?" The woman scoffed, turning her head back to the window. "Then you're one of _those_ children, aren't you?"

The manner in which the woman coldly spoke sent a shiver up Rei's spine, hair standing up as her back prickled. She knew immediately, even without words, that this woman did not approve of the child standing next to her, did not approve of her connection. Rei immediately knew this woman's type; the wealthy who looked down upon the poor, who held disdain for those who did not belong to society, did not fit the mold. Briefly she wondered how Reina had ended up so different, but when her golden eyes observed the couple in front of her she found that it wasn't so hard to make the connection at all.

If these people had been Rei's parents, she would have wanted to escape them at any opportunity. Forget being an orphan; she would gladly take the route of societal shame over such drudgery and prejudice any day. But she held her tongue instead, for Reina's sake. "I am, ma'am."

"I have no idea what Reina is doing with your type, but you don't deserve her time. She needs to be learning the ropes of the company, but instead she wastes her days and her time on… other things."

Rei's head swirled. Company? She had no idea exactly what was going on, since Reina preferred to avoid talking about her family for some reason. But from this one meeting, this chance encounter, Rei knew why. Courage swelled in her chest, and she turned to the woman. "You're right. I don't deserve her time." Brown eyes turned to Rei, but Rei pushed on. "I don't deserve Reina at all. But she gave me her time anyway, and she's pushed me to become a better person." Her fists clenched at her side, voice unwavering as she spoke confidently. "I'm going to become a hero. I'm going to go to U.A., and I'm going to work hard to achieve my dream. Reina gave me a chance, even though I didn't deserve it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to throw it away. I'm grateful for her, and I'll keep pushing on, even if people like you try to stop me."

Bowing curtly, Reina walked away, feeling two sets of eyes on her. But she refused to turn around. Urahara was finally coming down the hall, but paused as she watched Rei walk purposefully toward her. Concern was on her face, but she kept composed. "Are you ready?"

Rei nodded sharply. She would take the next step forward. She had to believe that she was going to get into U.A., that she would become a hero. Not just for Haru, any longer, but Reina's sake as well. The list of people that she loved was growing a bit bigger, and she wouldn't let them down.

"I'm ready. Let's go."

Urahara seemed to know that something was wrong, but she said nothing. Rei was grateful for that. The older woman always knew what to say and when to say it, but she knew when to hold back too. Sometimes silence and retrospection was greater than any advice that someone could give, and Urahara wielded that knowledge and discernment well. The entire way back she let Rei stew in her thoughts.

Too many times had she been told that she was nothing. After a certain point, it was what one came to believe: that they were nothing, that they would never amount to anything. For every one hundred compliments someone received, all it took was one negative thing to make someone break or doubt themself.

But Rei was over it. She would no longer be the victim. She wouldn't lie and say that she had overcome her troubles; this was pure anger, pure bitterness that now spurred her forward. She moved out of spite, to kick her abusers where it would hurt. If they believed that she couldn't do it, then she would rise to the occasion to prove them wrong.

She had to believe she was going to make it. For herself. For Haru. For Reina.

* * *

**AN:** Poor Rei. I've really been throwing her around like a punching bag, haven't I?

I know I said I might be slowing down, but the good news is that I finished a chapter that I wanted to insert pretty soon. Can you guess what the surprise will be?

**And as always, thank you for your reviews...**

**N3mm**: I'm glad it was so surprising! I try and make my plot points unpredictable (which is why I've been rewriting some of the later chapters in order to make them more complex). And I do have plans for Haru's role later... those moments are intentional. I do try to make everything intentional in my stories, though sometimes they don't seem like it at first. (also I love Mercy, since I'm a Mercy/ main)

**apple pie**: Technically I can't explain this or give you a good answer, because spoilers for some things I have planned for later. :) But I hope you enjoyed it!

**And The Others Laugh**: At first I was just going to have her get knocked out of the boundaries, but then I was like, "but consider this... human shishkabob." Poor Rei lol

**dragontamer64**: Omg, hearing you say that you stayed up to read this really makes me happy as a writer (but as a human who has responsibilities, very concerned for your sleep as well, so stay healthy!). But thank you! People saying that they stay up to read this makes me feel honored, because I know those feels.

**FireFox614**: Thank you! I will try to update as fast as possible.

**ansegiel**: Poor Rei is my little kabob now. Rest in pieces pieces. Literally.

Please leave a review if you like how this is going!


	11. The Past, the Present, and the Path

Chapter 11

The Past, the Present, and the Path

* * *

_**Mid March**_

_**One week after the Entrance Exam**_

* * *

The letter had come in the mail. All the kids had crowded around Reina as Urahara handed her the letter, but she had retreated into her room, locking the door behind her. She wanted to be alone.

There it sat, in front of her on her desk, unopened. Rei sat in the chair, legs crossed as she balanced on the seat. Golden eyes stared blankly in front of her, desire absent.

This was all wrong. This wasn't how she wanted it to go.

She wanted Reina to be beside her in this moment. Her mentor deserved to know, for all the work she had invested in her mentee, all the days she had pushed Rei to become better not just as an academic, but as a person. But now she lay in a coma in a hospital, leaving everyone uncertain if she would ever wake up again or not. To further complicate things and stew the pot for Rei, the meeting with Reina's parents one week prior had left a bitter taste in her mouth, a knife that had been plunged into her chest and still remained. How had Reina, her beautiful and bright mentor, come from such serious and condescending parents? How had she survived all this time, continuing to be such a bright and radiant person that brought love and compassion to everyone she touched? Why had Reina's parents been so eager to twist the blade into Rei's chest?

The letter sat in front of her. Yet for all the years she had spent preparing for this moment, her mind was everywhere and anywhere else but where it was supposed to be.

Fifteen minutes passed in silence. She had surely failed. She had been average on the written portion, and had scored thirty-six points on the practical. It was nothing outstanding, nothing that would merit attention. She instinctively knew that others had done better; she had scraped by with her quirk, something that wasn't nearly as effective as an offensive ability as others were. For the most part she had done that well because she had thought ahead, using the terrain and her other abilities to do the work for her. But none of that mattered in the end; the test was about results, and she had surely failed.

Finally, she reached for the letter, carefully tearing it open with one of her nails. Her stomach was sick, but she fought it back. At least she had to get this over with. Out slid a small, circular object, much to Rei's surprise and confusion. She blinked slowly at the object. What was she supposed to do with this? Feeling around the surface, she felt something click into place, the object beginning to whir to life. A projection shot out of the top, Rei quickly placing it on her desk.

"_I am here! As a projection!" _

Rei blinked. All Might?!

What in the world?

He beamed from the projection, trademark smile plastered across his face as he placed his hands on his hips. It certainly was the real All Might, leaving Rei half wondering just how they had gotten him to deliver the results. Was he getting involved with U.A.? That would be news indeed. "_Akatsuki Rei. You passed the written exam with flying colors! Very commendable indeed. And, as you may already know, you received thirty-six points on the practical portion. It was a good effort, for which you should be proud of yourself."_

Folding her hands into her lap, Rei looked down at her clasped fingers. It was all information that she had known. From the way that he was presenting it, it sounded like he was trying to encourage her, leading up to her downfalls.

Crestfallen, tears began to come to her eyes. She hadn't made it.

"_As you may know, U.A. accepts only the best of the best. We pride ourselves on the unconventional, forcing students to go beyond, Plus Ultra! That is why-"_

The first tear dropped. She had known, deep down.

"_The practical exam was not only graded on villain points!" _

Her heart stopped. Eyes flew up to the projection, lips parting slightly as she sharply inhaled. The exam wasn't just graded on villain points? But if that wasn't all there was to it…"

"_Rescue points! Aside from villain points, a panel of judges scores each individual on their rescue capabilities and actions during the exam. And for you, Akatsuki Rei-"_

A new screen flashed up, listing the top ten scores. Names, villain points, and rescue points. Rei's eyes greedily took in the information, breath hitching as she found her name. Her hands clapped over her mouth, tears welling once again, but for very different reasons.

"_Thirty-six villain points, plus an additional forty rescue points, for a total of seventy-six points!"_

Second place, one point away from tying with first.

"_Your actions against the zero-point villain were noble, not only jumping in front of that boy who had frozen in fear, but also continuing to distract it as others ran away. Even if there was no immediate reward, you did so heroically. How can a hero school turn away from those who help others?"_ All Might grinned, getting closer to the camera. "_Congratulations, Young Akatsuki. Welcome to U.A.." _

The projection flickered to black, showing a small note to pay attention to further directions that were included in the letter inside the envelope. But Rei didn't move. She couldn't move. Her jaw was still slack, hanging open in surprise. For a moment Rei couldn't believe it, sitting in the dim lighting and silence. U.A… she had…

"Nee-san made it into U.A.!"

She could hear the cheers from beyond her door, the other children losing their minds as they stormed up and down the staircase. At the bottom she could hear Urahara desperately trying to calm everyone, but to no avail. Laughter, ecstatic cheers, all for her.

Pulling her legs close to her chest, Rei rested her face on her knees, digging her eyeballs into the bony joints that jutted up harshly.

She cried.

* * *

The first thing she did the next day was visit Reina.

She had been moved to a prestigious hospital by her parents, in order to assure that their daughter received the highest quality care. But from what Rei could ascertain, no one ever really visited her since her arrival. A small piece of Rei was thankful that she wouldn't have to interact with such unsettling adults, bitter at their last encounter and wishing they would stay away forever. But without Reina's parents, Rei knew that few people would be over to visit her. So with a heart half burdened and half light, she made her way to the hospital, set on visiting her mentor whether she was awake or not.

To be honest, Rei had expected to receive more pushback from her visit since she was unaccompanied and still a middle school student, but as it turned out the receptionists at the front had swooned as soon as they saw the young girl carrying a bright bouquet of sunflowers in her hands. They had deemed her a sweet and thoughtful young girl, visiting her mentor who rarely received any visitors that they knew of at the front reception. They had immediately caved and ushered her through the hospital after handing over a visitor's pass, leaving Rei almost bewildered as she walked through the sterile hallways.

When she finally found the room, a nurse had met her at the entrance, interested in knowing exactly who was visiting her beautiful young patient. After Rei sheepishly admitted that Reina was her mentor the nurse had gushed about how supportive and thoughtful both of them were, inviting her into the room as she made her rounds. The nurse shared the overall condition of Reina, as much as she could to someone not directly related.

"You know," the nurse held her a clipboard to her chest as she finished up, "people in comas aren't really absent. There's a lot of evidence that they can still hear us, even though they can't respond."

Rei's eyebrows raised in genuine interest. "Really?"

The nurse nodded, a sad look coming over her face as she sighed. "To be honest, it's disheartening that few people come to visit Fujiwara-san. I try to talk to her every time I'm in here, but she doesn't know me as well." With a sad smile, she gave a meaningful look to Rei. "While you're here, you should talk to her. It's good for her development, and might help speed the healing process."

She left before Rei could respond or ask any questions, leaving Rei alone in the room, unsure and awkward. Talk to Reina? Sitting in the chair next to Reina's bed, she looked at her slumbering face, peaceful and placid. At least now she was cleaned up, much neater and slightly more alive looking than when Rei had first seen her in the first hospital. Now she appeared like she was in a deep slumber. For a moment Rei sat still near the bed, unsure of what to do, trying to formulate what she would say in her head. But after a minute, she simply sighed.

"Reina, it's me, Rei." It was more awkward than she realized, talking at someone who couldn't respond. Shaking her head in frustration, she pushed through, moving on. "It's been a week since you've been in here. I wonder if you can really hear me. I just…"

Scowling, Rei's hands gripped her bulky black jacket in her palms. She felt dumb. Maybe she should just leave. She shook her head. No, she would do this. For Reina's sake.

"The acceptance letters for U.A. came in yesterday. Last night, actually. Reina… I got in." For the first time that morning, a small smile lit up her face. "I was ranked number two on the practical, even though I dislocated my shoulder. You should've seen the other kids at the orphanage. They all started screaming. Even Urahara couldn't calm them down for a while." Laughing at the memory, she brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear, looking back at Reina's face.

"So, I start in a few weeks. I guess I'll have to turn down Ketsubutsu and Seiai now, though. I didn't think about that yesterday. Guess that's what I'm doing today." She paused, thinking of what else to say. "I have work tomorrow. It's going really well. I like it, even though it's early."

A pause. "Reina, this feels weird, talking at you. I don't like it." Shifting in her seat, she finally stood up. "Please, come back soon, okay? I miss you. A lot. I want to go back to the cafe and eat croissants with you. I want to talk about U.A., and ask you for your advice."

"Reina, just… wake up soon, okay?"

* * *

_**Present Day, after the sports festival.**_

"Good work today."

Class 1-A had returned to the classroom, patched up and ready for the long day to end. Everyone seemed to be in decent spirits, save for Bakugou, who continued to hold the medal in his gritted teeth, his angry and spiteful rage only increasing as time went on. Still Aizawa continued on, everyone mostly intent on and content to ignore the thundercloud sitting near the front corner. "So, there will be no school tomorrow or the day after. I'm sure the pro heroes who were watching will want to recruit you, but we'll consolidate everything and announce it when we get back."

With one final survey of the class, peering through the bandages around his face, Aizawa concluded. "That's all. Rest well, and look forward to that."

An enthusiastic chorus of "yes" reverberated in the classroom, even Rei putting more effort into her cheer. As their homeroom teacher slunk out of the classroom the chatter came back. Yaoyorozu turned around in her seat, looking to Rei with a brilliant smile. "Congratulations, Akatsuki-san! I'm sure you'll get a lot of offers from companies."

"Yeah."

A pause, as cobalt eyes looked at her in concern. "Are you sure you're alright? All of us were terrified when you fell…"

Rei was still distracted, mostly by the pain as she leaned over to pick up her bag and place it on her desk, but she didn't want to make a big deal. Her stomach was mostly healed, the pain and tenderness of newly stitched muscles the only thing that lingered. They had to be stretched out eventually so that they would begin to get stronger, but Rei would focus on that later, most likely the next day. Shrugging her shoulders, she sighed. "I'm fine. Really."

She blinked in surprise as she felt her phone vibrate, pulling it out of the external pocket with curiosity as she looked at the notification. So engrossed in her own personal bubble, she failed to notice a set of eyes that had turned to stare at her in guilt, hesitant to intrude but wanting to say something.

They never got the chance.

_1 new message._

Flipping the phone open and scrolling to her messages, Rei's heart stopped. Eyes widening, she froze, body going rigid in shock. Yaoyorozu looked at her in concern. "Akatsuki-san, what's wrong? Are you in pain?"

Some people turned in their desk at Yaoyorozu's exclamation, looking in concern at the girl in the back corner of class. But Rei couldn't feel anyone's eyes on her, didn't realize the attention she had drawn. Her entire being had been sucked into one message, one word that had popped up onto her screen.

**Reinananana (4:16 PM)  
**_Congratulations :)_

She stood up suddenly, desk chair scraping on the floor with the sudden movement. Her stomach screamed in pain, but adrenaline had taken over, cushioning the pain in favor of her mind racing over the possibilities that the single message carried. In one fluid motion she swung her backpack over her shoulder, the brunt of the weight barely registering in her mind. "I'm going," she spoke quickly to Yaoyorozu, though her eyes were far away. "Don't wait for me."

"Akatsuki-san-"

But Rei's mind was already miles away, her mind racing behind. She stumbled for a moment down the aisle, barely catching herself in time as she raced forward. It was like time repeated itself as she passed by Bakugou, the boy explosively standing up from his desk as his hands crackled and stepping into the aisle just as Rei began to pass by. Knocked aside by his sudden rise from his desk she stumbled again, clasping her phone close to her chest. Already irritated, Bakugou exploded. "Oi, watch where you're going! Shitty-"

His words stopped. Rei didn't. She didn't even look at him as she pushed past, dashing across the front of the classroom and slamming the door in her wake. When the door shut behind her the tension lingered for a moment longer, silence filling the room in confusion over what had just happened. It was broken by Bakugou's hands crackling off, his yelling filling the room once again as he began to rage over the medal and at being ignored. Most people began to recover, going about their business and beginning to talk amongst themselves once more as people began filing out.

But Midoriya turned to Yaoyorozu, the girl looking concerned and almost afraid. "Yaoyorozu-san," he began, but he trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

Momo seemed to know what he wanted to ask. Her cobalt eyes lowered to her desk, shoulders dropping and slumping forward. "She looked like she was going to cry." Looking up at Midoriya, she sent him a pleading look, desperate to confirm what she had seen. "You saw it too, right?"

"Y-yeah…" His response only seemed to worry Yaoyorozu further. She stood from her desk, gathering her belongings about her.

"Akatsuki-san doesn't cry. She had seen something on her phone. I'm worried…"

He had no answer. Out of anyone in the class, Akatsuki was undeniably the closest to Yaoyorozu. If even her best friend was stumped…

They just had to trust that she would be okay, and wait for her to come back to them.

A pair of eyes, one brown and one cerulean, drifted back down to their desk in guilt.

* * *

She ran all the way to the hospital.

She was certain that her wounds had opened again, as dangerous as they had been. Even her quirk hadn't been able to fully heal her, no matter how much faster she healed compared to regular people and even with Recovery Girl's assistance, and she was sure that the bandages under her shirt were bleeding again from the exertion. But Rei couldn't find it in herself to be either concerned or caring. Out of breath and wheezing upon arrival, she could barely articulate anything to the receptionists, but to her fortune they recognized her immediately, handing her a visitor's pass with a small bit of hesitation at her sudden appearance. Walking as quickly as she could she elected to take the stairs, sprinting up to Reina's level as fast as possible. She would be faster than waiting on the elevators in this slow building, and she wanted to waste no time.

It was when she was drawing close to Reina's room that the same nurse appeared, a smile on her face. "Akatsuki-san!" She was rather cheerful, not at all surprised at the young girl's appearance. In fact, it looked as though she had been expecting it. "I take it you received Fujiwara's text message."

Rei was startled, stopping in her tracks. "You… knew?"

She nodded. "Fujiwara-san forced herself to try and stay awake for as long as she could, but she lasted about fifteen minutes before falling back asleep again. She's still exhausted, so she needs her rest. But it was enough to see the awards ceremony at the sports festival." The nurse bowed. "Congratulations, by the way."

There were too many things happening at once. The nurse had been expecting her. Reina had finally woken up. She had seen the sports festival. She knew… "When can I see her?" She managed to spit out her words, no matter how fast her mind was racing.

At this the nurse frowned a bit. "She'll most likely be asleep for the rest of the evening. Come back tomorrow. She'll most likely be up by then." She bowed slightly again. "I apologize, that you came all this way…"

Rei shook her head, shoulders sagging. "No, that's okay. I'll be here tomorrow then." Turning away and walking back down the hallway, she made her way to the elevator, pressing the button to go down. She could take her time now, walking a bit more slowly now that her stomach wounds were screaming at her in full force.

But even despite the pain, she could breathe easier now. She could breathe, now that she knew that Reina was okay.

* * *

On the first day off after the sports festival, Rei went into to work as usual. Despite the early hour she was brimming with nervous energy, her mind surprisingly awake and aware of everything. The entire time she felt as though her heart was ready to explode from anticipation, wondering if Reina would be awake this time. Mamaru had noticed her young assistant's energy, and once Rei had explained the entire situation the elder woman had packed a small box filled with fresh fruit tarts, sending them off with the girl with a smile and well wishes. She released Rei slightly early, giving her time to change into more casual clothes and make a few more stops.

She had dressed in one of her favorite outfits, white shorts and a beige tank top underneath a trendy sweater jacket that Reina had bought for her on her birthday almost a year ago. It was black and hung loosely on her body, obscuring the full shape of her arms and torso while hanging open at the front, baggy sleeves cinched at her wrists. Rei absolutely adored it, always wondering how exactly Reina knew what to get her, especially when it came to fashion. Rei had never had a style to claim as her own, most of her own clothes coming from donations or older kids as they grew out of them for most of her life. But somehow, Reina just knew… it was hard to believe that the woman was quirkless sometimes, when there were so many things about her that just seemed illogical or impossible.

With a small spring in her step, the first stop that she made was at the florist. Buying another bouquet of sunflowers, she managed to balance it under her arm and across the small pastry box, eyes constantly watching the packages she carried to make sure they didn't slide or slip out of her grasp. The last time she had brought flowers was two weeks prior, when she had last visited the hospital. She hadn't had time last week, since she had trained with Midoriya for the sports festival and had ended up staying at his house for dinner. Surely the flowers were wilting or dead by now; sunflowers were Reina's favorite, and even though Rei often had trouble spending money simply because of how tight she was over her personal funds, she found that buying flowers was one of the easiest purchases she ever made. Flowers made everything better, in her opinion.

The train ride had seemed to take forever. Ready to burst with energy, she had noticed a few people openly staring in her direction. She had merely blinked, not particularly perturbed by any disturbances or curious glances in her direction, being in such a good mood. It wasn't until after she had left the train at her stop that she had realized that there was a chance that some of them had probably recognized her from the sports festival. Thankfully, she looked regular enough that most people probably couldn't pick her out from a crowd. Blending in with her black choppy hair and golden eyes that looked forward at all time, she maneuvered carefully through the crowds.

It was when she got to the bottom of the hill where the hospital was built that she saw a familiar figure walking a slight bit in front of her. For a moment she simply paused, unsure of what to do. The last they had truly been face to face was in the arena, in a fight that left Rei literally fighting for her life. But her mood was too good to be ruined by such thoughts, and neither did she have it in her to feel bitter against her classmate. The fall had been her fault. She inhaled deep before raising her voice a bit.

"Todoroki...san?"

The boy turned, and Rei heaved a sigh of relief at having caught the right person. He looked quite different outside of the school uniform, dressed in dark gray pants and a navy blue jacket. It was strange to see classmates in such casual clothing. She walked quickly to catch up to him, approaching calmly. "Are you… going to the hospital too?"

He looked surprised, caught off guard at her question. A darkness lingered in his eyes as he took in Rei's figure, scanning her up and down before softening just lightly. He nodded in response. "Yeah."

"I see." Finally catching up to him, they stood side by side for a moment, Todoroki looking unsure of what to say, something lingering in his eyes as he stared at her. Rei looked at him for a moment before shaking herself away. She didn't want to pry into what he was thinking. Instead she offered a tentative smile. "No hard feelings about the sports festival, right?"

He blinked, clearly taken aback. For a moment he hesitated before speaking slowly, a tinge of incredulousness in his voice in his response. "Shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

Rei smiled shyly, shifting the box and the flowers in her arms as they began to slide away. "It's fine. I've basically healed up. Speaking of, I'm on my way to the hospital too." Tilting her head in their intended direction, the two began to walk at a casual pace. Breathing in deeply, Rei sighed, thankful for the beautiful weather. It was late morning, but the skies were still clear and cool, only starting to warm up now. She would most likely need to take off her sweater when she walked home.

"You seem different."

Golden eyes flickered in surprise and curiosity over to meet silver and blue. Tilting her head, she blinked a couple times. Her voice was quiet as she mused half to herself, trying to figure out what he meant. "What makes you say that?"

Todoroki shrugged, looking forward and back to the path in front of them. "I've never seen you smile like today."

Humming, Rei considered his words. "Then, you're different too, Todoroki-san. You seem more at peace."

"I suppose I am."

"Does it have to do with what Midoriya said to you?" White and red hair whipped in surprise as he looked to Rei, completely lost as to how she knew that much about him, but she simply continued to look forward, face not giving any more information. "I won't ask what happened. But after your fight with him, I could tell that something changed."

He seemed to relax at her explanation, shoulder dropping from the tension. "It's… something I have to figure out for myself still."

Rei only nodded in affirmation. "That's good."

"Why are you here?"

The hospital was beginning to come into view near the top of the hill, the two of them nearly halfway complete. Rei took a moment to herself, breathing in and out as she considered his question and how to respond. "My mentor was in a car crash the day of the entrance exam for U.A.. She's been in a coma since then. Yesterday was the first day she woke up."

"Was that the reason why you left so quickly?"

"Yeah." Rei smiled freely, a gentle look on her face. Todoroki watched in surprise as she softened, something never seen on Akatsuki's face in school. She was always tough, a blank mask on her face at all times, only showing irritation on occasion when things didn't go her way during training. To see her looking so carefree, so warm…

Her voice matched her current persona, light but full of intent. "Reina… is the world to me. She took me out of a dark place. I'm only in U.A. because she pushed me to be here. And today…" her smile got even bigger, face lighting up, "today I get to tell her in person that I made it." She shifted the things in her arms once again as they continued to climb. "That's why I brought flowers, and some pastries from the bakery I work at."

Todoroki was stunned into silence. There were so many things that he didn't know about Akatsuki, didn't expect to hear, like how she had a part time job on top of all her academics. And all of this information coming out now as they walked toward the hospital, an entirely unlikely meeting place. A coincidence, every bit of it; their meeting, the reveal of Rei's softer side. He was completely taken aback by how she presented herself outside of class, an almost unrecognizable person from the cold exterior she held up at all times. So much so that his guilt at injuring her during the sports festival was moved to the side. It didn't seem as though she held any grudges anyway. Here in casual clothes she was warm and gentle, so passionate and full of love for her mentor. So genuine. It was almost a privilege to see this side of her, something that no one else in their class had ever seen. Did Yaoyorozu or even Midoriya know this side?

It was as they reached the gates of the hospital that he paused, his own personal thoughts taking over. Rei took a few steps before pausing, waiting for him to follow. He stared up at the industrially designed building, hundreds of windows lining the front and shimmering in the late morning light. He had so many questions, so many doubts about coming to this place. But perhaps it was fate that he had met his classmate here, her gaze unknowingly goading him into following her in. He couldn't back out now, so he found his resolve and stepped forward.

She hadn't pushed him for answers, but in light of learning about her he felt compelled to at least share something in return.

"My mother lives here." Rei was silent, but he knew she was listening. She was always listening, always alert. Nothing ever seemed to pass her by. "My father put her here after an incident." His fingers brushed against the scar on his face, feeling the ravaged tissue that would never be the same. "She thought my left side looked unsightly, so she poured boiling water on my face."

He glanced to his companion. There was compassion on her face, not mere pity. Understanding. She nodded, beckoning him to continue, but he struggled to find the words to continue, at a loss for words for a moment. Swallowing, he looked forward at the hospital again, watching the doors that he would have to walk through very soon. "I want to become a hero, but there's some things I must resolve for myself before I do."

Rei only nodded in acceptance, the two of them passing through the doors. Rei took the lead as she walked up to the reception, the two ladies looking at her brightly.

"Back so soon, Akatsuki-san?"

She no longer smiled as brightly as she had outside, but there was still a openness to her demeanor. "Reina woke up yesterday for the first time. Unfortunately it looks like I won't be coming back here much more."

The women cooed, lavishing more praises and comments as they handed her a visitor's pass. Pressing the sticky name tag to her sweater, she motioned for Todoroki to step forward. She watched as he began talking with the receptionists, trying to figure out exactly where his mother was and how to get there.

A thought struck Rei, and she placed the pastry box on the desk, rummaging with the bouquet. By the time Todoroki had resolved his issues and turned to Rei she was extending a hand toward him, three sunflowers in her grasp. He stared in confusion, looking between the flowers and the sheepish look on her face as she turned away from his gaze.

"You can't go empty handed, right? So here." Gingerly he accepted the flowers with a mutter of thanks, touching the petals delicately as she wrangled the white box and tucked it under her arm, shifting the flowers around as the two of them walked over to the elevator. It was thoughtful. Yet another word he had never thought to associate with his typically cold classmate.

Rei's floor was lower than Todoroki's and as the elevator dinged and opened its doors she stepped off with a small smile, turning back to face him one last time.

"I'll see you in class." Her lips parted, then closed, as though unsure of what she was about to say. Looking to the floor briefly she suddenly turned her eyes onto Todoroki, a strong emotion deep within them. "You'll find the answers you're looking for."

He was surprised, but he managed a small twitch of the corner of his lips at her sentiments, nodding his head. Rei smiled as he lifted a hand in farewell, the doors closing and sealing the vision of him away. Renewed with new energy, Rei walked carefully down the quiet hallway, making her way towards the room she frequented with regularity.

There wasn't anyone to greet her as she entered the room, no nurses in sight. But as Rei turned the corner she saw brown eyes, filling her heart with such strong emotions she felt ready to burst.

Brown eyes that hadn't been open for weeks, now looking more alive than ever and staring back at Rei with so much emotion, the young girl could barely handle herself.

Reina smiled. "You're here. The nurses told me you'd be here today."

She could only nod, her throat tight as she managed to speak. "You're back."

"I'm here to stay. You can't get rid of me so easily, right?"

* * *

"So, here are the totals for those with offers."

Being back in school meant that they were back to business. Rei blanched as soon as her name came up on the electronic screen that Aizawa projected, just underneath Tokoyami with three hundred and twenty offers. Immediately the class started getting excited, making comments about those who had received offers and jostling one another around. In front of her, Yaoyorozu looked at Todoroki. "You're amazing, Todoroki."

But the boy simply glowered, looking forward with a bored expression. "They're probably all because of my father."

Slightly shot down, Yaoyorozu craned her neck to look backward at Rei. To her surprise, Rei looked rather… caught off guard. The only motion the small girl made was the owlish blinking of her eyes every few seconds, as though trying to take everything in. Yaoyorozu smiled, chuckling under her breath. "Akatsuki-san, you did well too."

At her friend's comment Rei's eye twitched, revealing her inner turmoil. "So… many… That's… a lot of pressure."

Even though she was clearly irked at her current problem, there was something about Rei that seemed more relaxed than before. Yaoyorozu could clearly recall how she had literally fled the classroom, running through the door at the soonest possible instant. But now, the Rei that sat behind her seemed… oddly normal, and calm. Her shoulders had lost their tension, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. It was enough to make Momo smile, reassured that things were getting back to normal. Perhaps Midoriya was right; they had worried for nothing.

Aizawa clicked at the screen again, turning it off. "Keep all that in mind, you'll all be participating in internships with pros whether you got offers or not."

At this the rest of the class seemed to perk up, particularly Midoriya. "Internships…"

"At USJ, you already got to receive combat experience with real villains, but it'll be insight for you all to see how pros work firsthand."

"Oh, so that's why we're getting to pick hero names!" Satou's exclamation seemed to get everyone even more fired up, the energy returning to the entire classroom.

Aizawa shrugged. "Well, these hero names will still be temporary, but if you're not serious about it-"

"Then you'll have hell to pay for later!"

Rei winced at the sudden volume as Midnight slammed the door open, interrupting Aizawa and carrying on into the classroom with a prance. Drammatic, as always. How did Aizawa seem the most normal out of all the teachers, as odd as he was himself?

Some of the boys in particular perked up at Midnight's entrance, staring with extremely attentive gazes, to which Rei rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair. She would admit, she admired Midnight as a hero, but her reputation as an "R" rated hero had her eye twitching as some of the boys'... well, lack of restraint.

But Midnight ignored them, continuing with her rant. "A lot of the names that students use eventually get recognized by society, and they end up becoming professional names!"

Aizawa blinked lazily at the class. "Well, that's how it is. Midnight will be making sure your names are okay. I can't do stuff like that."

Blinking at their homeroom teacher as he pulled out his normal yellow sleeping bag, Rei was lost in thought. Was he seriously that bad? Come to think of it, she didn't know exactly how he had gotten the name Eraser Head, and it wasn't exactly the most… creative.

"When you give yourself a name," he continued as he began to unzip the yellow bag, "you begin to get a more concrete idea of what you want to be like in the future, and then you can get closer to it. Like the phrase, 'names and natures do often agree.' Like All Might, for example."

With that much of an explanation, white boards were passed down the rows along with markers, leaving it up to the students to begin the brainstorming. Rei was the last one to receive a board, and she stared blankly at the canvas in front of her. Names. She hadn't given it too much of a thought for years. Of course, there were the names that she had been given as a child. Haru had often joked that she would be called Black Cat, but now that Rei was older she found it incredibly generic. Plus, hadn't that been the name of a top hero in the United States a few years ago?

Scowling, she twirled the pen in her hand, eyes darting around the room. Some people had already written theirs with confidence, while a handful still sat debating, their white boards blank. It made Rei feel a little better, but time was limited and she needed to think. Think! What was something that she could do?

The only thing that crossed her mind was Haru's title, "The Shooting Star Hero." She had chosen it because her quirk allowed her to see the probabilities of something happening and either allowed her to increase or decrease those chances. She had used it one time to make a shooting star appear across the sky, because Rei had mentioned always wanting to wish on one. That was when they had decided on their names, at first joking, but then seriously. Would Rei take on something like that?

Should she?

_It's not our dream anymore. It's yours._

Determined, Rei began writing. Then she erased everything she had with a brush of her forearm, leaving black marks on her skin that she violently brushed away. There were two other false starts, each time leaving Rei with furrowed brows as she violently scrubbed away at her board. At this rate it was useless.

"Alright, we're going to share them out loud!"

At this the class began to mutter, most people nervous. Sharing in front of their peers? They had to make sure that their name was good, in that case. Rei grimaced in the back corner. How was she supposed to share when she couldn't even think of anything remotely good?

Aoyama was the first to calmly walk to the front, a suspicious twinkle in his eye as he stood behind the podium. "Here I go." Everyone leaned forward in apprehension, curious to see what he came up with. Whiteboard flipping over, he held it above his head. "Shining Hero: I cannot stop twinkling!"

_It's a sentence…_

Even as the class looked on in horror, Midnight stepped in, taking her own pen to the whiteboard. "Well, it'll be easier if you take out the 'I' and shorten it to the contraction 'can't.'" But it was enough for Aoyama, who pointed to the board in excitement.

"You're right, mademoiselle!"

_Seriously? It's fine like that?_

But Aoyama sat back down, Ashido bursting up to the front. "Me next! Hero name: Alien Queen!"

Rei relaxed at a slightly more normal name, but Midnight seemed to go against it immediately. "Are you trying for the thing with acidic blood? I wouldn't if I were you!"

Left to sulk, Ashido returned to her seat slowly, defeated at her rejection. But she immediately wiped her board, returning to her ideas. Rei set her pen down, looking about the classroom and gauging the mood. After both Aoyama and Ashido had gone, most people looked as though they were straining to come up with ideas. Admittedly it wasn't the best idea to go after the two, well, strangest ideas.

Asui approached the front of the classroom next. "I've had this idea since I was in elementary school." Turning the board around, she showed the class her name: the Rainy Season Hero, Froppy. Admittedly it was a rather cute name, although Rei knew that Asui wasn't limited to "cute," being a diligent fighter that was rather dangerous. But Midnight swooned over the adorable nature of the name, giving Asui a hard pass. The class burst into cheers, chanting her name over and over again.

Rei sighed, picking up the pen. Back to the drawing board. Still, she had no idea of what to do.

From that point on, the rest of the class began to pick up. Steadily the names began to roll through, some of them simple and easy to distinguish, others more complicated but still just as cool. Rei eventually gave up for a few moments, instead leaning forward on her desk and propping her chin on her hand, watching as Yaoyorozu walked to the front of the class. "I hope I can live up to this name. Everything Hero: Creati." The class approved the name with cheers, putting a smile on Yaoyorozu's face. As she returned to her seat, Rei looked to her friend.

"It's a good name, Yaoyorozu."

Hearing Rei's approval put an even bigger smile on her face. Clapping her hands together, she looked to Rei excitedly. "Thank you, Akatsuki-san." She hesitated, almost uncertain of what she wanted to say next. "You know, you can also call me Momo now, if you want."

Rei blinked. It was a sudden change of events. "... Momo?"

"Yes! I was thinking, Yaoyorozu is a bit long and formal, and we're friends now, aren't we? Call me by my first name." She paused, suddenly a little sheepish. "You don't have to, if you don't feel comfortable. And you don't have to use your first name around me yet. I just thought…"

"I like it." Rei smiled gently. "Momo-san."

Yaoyorozu looked like she was about to explode, though she managed to contain herself and sit in her seat, turning to look at Rei. "Have you decided on your name yet?"

Shaking her head, Rei looked at the blank slate with a frown. "Not yet."

Momo only smiled reassuringly before turning around. "You'll think of it. I'll leave you to it."

More and more people went up to the front, everyone getting approval from Midnight. Only Bakugou was sent back to his seat, left to brew up an idea. _Lord Explosion Murder_. Even Rei couldn't hide the snort that she had to quickly hide behind her hand. Childish, and yet… very apt. At least Midnight sent him back with a glare, unwavering even as he threw a tantrum. But nearly thirty minutes had passed now, and Rei was still nowhere.

"The only ones left are Bakugou, Iida, Midoriya, and Akatsuki, right?"

But sure enough, Iida presented his name, simply opting to by his first name like Todoroki. There was something in his face that made Rei scrutinize him closer, but he moved back to his desk before she could get a good idea of what was going on. Something was wrong with Iida, that much was for sure. But what could be bothering him? Perhaps Uraraka knew something, but at the same time…

Rei slumped in her seat. Perhaps it wasn't her place to ask. Not like she had ever been close with Iida and his annoying manner of managing to get on her nerves every hour.

Midoriya had made his was to the front quickly after being called. To everyone's surprise he had elected to go by "Deku," the name that Rei knew had come from Bakugou. But he had defended his decision, stating that he now saw the name as something else, something that made him happy and gave him hope. So to no one's displeasure, Midoriya returned to his seat, hero name chosen.

"Akatsuki-san, are you ready?"

Midnight called her forward, Rei tensing in her seat. She hated speaking in front of people, but she would do it. Clutching her board tightly to her chest, she made her way to the podium, her head barely visible over the top due to her height. Breathing out, she made eye contact with Momo, who nodded encouragingly with a smile, leaning forward in her desk. Without any more hesitation Rei turned her board around.

_Meishin_.

Blue eyes blinking, Midnight looked at Rei. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Rei looked up. "When I was little, I thought I wanted to be the Black Cat. But that was also the name of a famous hero from America, and I didn't want to live up to that." Looking out to the class, her gold eyes hardened. "I became a hero to become a stealth agent, to infiltrate and break quirk trafficking rings." There were gasps around the classroom at her admission, surprise breaking out as twenty faces stared up at her. It was a rather dark admission, holding a lot of weight and severity for its specificity and topic. But Rei held fast, her gaze serious. "I will become the hero that makes villains doubt themselves."

_Meishin. _

_Superstition._

At Rei's explanation, Midnight cheered. "It's dark and mysterious, just like you! Alright, Meishin!"

When Rei looked back out the class, the faces had changed from surprise to encouragement. Bowing, Rei slipped back toward her seat, sliding into place after exchanging a grin with Momo.

Superstition. This was her destiny.

* * *

The pile of papers listing the internship offers Rei had received was atrocious.

At this point, Rei was about to just pick the top agency and run with it. That wouldn't have been the most smart idea, but it was the most logical given the time constraints. It would make the choosing easy, in addition to securing the fact that she would technically be with one of the best agencies that was on the list. But the smartest idea would be to sift through them and determine which was the best fit. She wanted to work with undercover agencies and infiltration as she had just revealed to the entire class, but unfortunately that was work that required a long period of time, specifically for infiltration. Additionally, it wasn't like an agency was about to put a highschool kid on a strike team. So she would have to look through the list one by one and determine which was the best fit for her future plans. Something that would give her connections, or at least a feel for the general field she wanted to get into.

But with over three hundred offers, that options was next to impossible. How exactly had Todoroki decided? Picking at her meal during lunch, she looked across the table. The boy in question was sitting across from her, focusing on his own food. Perhaps now was the time…

Clearing her throat, she mustered up her courage. "Todoroki-san, have you decided on an agency?"

He looked up in surprise, but nodded. "Yeah."

"Can I ask how you chose? Out of all those agencies?"

He seemed a bit sheepish at his answer, looking around at the others at the table to gauge who was listening. Momo and the rest of them were drawn into some sort of debate about the internships on the other end of the table, leaving Rei and Todoroki on the fringes. With no one paying attention to them, they became absorbed in their own world. "I'm going with my old man's agency."

Now that had been unexpected. Rei's eyes widened. "Endeavor?" She blinked, taking it in for a moment. "That's... unexpected."

"I'm going because I have things to learn from him. Otherwise, I wouldn't have accepted." Rei understood his logic enough, nodding her head and taking a bite of her food. For a moment they lapsed into silence again, absorbed in eating their meal. Laughter rang out at the table, but Rei was unable to join.

Leaning forward onto the table, Rei's face fell. "To be honest, I'm at a loss. I don't know how to choose. I'm only thirty agencies in, and we only have two days."

Todoroki now seemed interested, leaning forward as he looked at her in genuine curiosity. "Why sift through all of them? I would have thought you would just choose one of the top ranked agencies."

Rei shook her head. "I thought about that, but I want the agency to be a good fit. Just because someone is top ranked doesn't mean it's the right experience. Having to sift through all the papers is a headache…"

"You're more dedicated to this than I thought."

Rei rolled her eyes playfully. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"What'll you do?"

"I've decided my next best bet is arson. Want to help?"

It was enough to earn a smirk from the stoic boy, getting an equal response from Rei. The two of them shared a secret look, but it was unfortunately caught by Sero.

"Oi, look at Akatsuki and Todoroki. Don't they look kind of…"

"Cute."

Rei's eyes widened as she sat up straight in her chair, eyes blinking wildly. Had Asui really said that? "C-cute?"

"Look! Akatsuki's flustered!"

"I didn't realize that was possible! She's so scary and serious all the time."

At that last comment Rei's face dropped into a dead serious glare. "Kirishima. I'll kill you."

The red head flinched away, shocked that of all the things Rei had heard, she had focused in on him. He scratched his head sheepishly as he laughed. "Seriously, you're too much like Bakugou sometimes."

The rest of the group laughed as Rei tossed her head, sniffing in disdain at the comparison and turning away from the group. This only made them laugh harder. Rei rolled her eyes, returning to her lunch. "Annoying as always, the lot of you." Finishing the last of her lunch she began packing up her belongings, standing up and drawing Todoroki and Momo's attention. "I'm heading back to the classroom to do more sifting. I'll see you later." The two only nodded as she turned and left, making her way back to 1-A.

There was still a considerable amount of time left for lunch. Rei skulked through the corridors, unable to prevent her sulking from coming out. Never had she thought that she would have a problem like this, but here she was. How was she going to be able to decide? Todoroki's choice had been unexpected but worked for him, so his manner of choosing hadn't given Rei any pointers on how to tackle her own load. Aizawa-sensei had simply told them to choose wisely, to consider all outcomes, but Rei was almost certain that she was overthinking at this point.

Arriving at the classroom she slid the door opened slowly, before sneaking in, closing the door behind her. At least in here she could find some peace and quiet in order to sort her thoughts. Lifting her hands to her temples, she rubbed soothing circles into her skull, already anticipating the headache in front of her.

"Oi."

Rei looked up in surprise. She knew who it was before her eyes had even landed on his figure. Much to her confusion Bakugou was sitting in his desk, his notebook open in front of him. As she drew closer she watched as he slid the book away from sight. She couldn't help but open her mouth. "Studying?"

He scoffed. "Stupid. What are you doing?"

It was a redirection and Rei knew it, but she let it slide. "I need to narrow down my choices for the internship." Slowly she made her way to their aisle, eyes fixed on the boy.

Rolling his eyes, he slouched in his chair. "Just pick the top agency and go. The strongest are up there for a reason, stupid."

"Unlike you, I want to actually try and pair myself with an agency that suits my needs." She had made it to their aisle, but he immediately stood up and blocked her pathway. Forced to look up into his face, she scowled. Kirishima's comparison between her and the boy that now stood in front of her flashed through her mind, only serving to deepen the scowl on her face as her brows furrowed. What was with Bakugou and getting on her nerves today in particular, especially when she had things to do? "Do you always enjoy getting in my way?"

He was clearly resisting the urge to shout back in her face, jaw clenching and neck throbbing from the strain. To his credit he swallowed his pride, a bored look painted across his face as he managed to compose himself. "You lost."

She knew. Immediately, she understood what this was about. Her gaze dropped to the floor. "Sorry." It was true. She was being honest; she was sorry that she hadn't made it. She hadn't been strong enough, hadn't had a desire to win that was greater than Todoroki. It frustrated her to no end, but she had swallowed the bitterness of defeat and had moved on. Or she thought she had. It was still too close for her to let go, and she knew it.

Folding his arms over his chest, Bakugou scoffed. "Thanks to you, I had to fight that half cold, half assed bastard." Half of Rei wanted to laugh at the name, the other half wanting to slap him across the face for being so crude and cruel. But she knew that he was simply frustrated, projecting his anger onto others. She held her tongue, this time. "You looked pathetic that day. What happened with you?"

Rei only shook her head, not wanting to go there. She tried to brush past him, but he held her back. This time she did scowl, sending a dark glare up to him. "What's your problem?"

He said nothing, for a moment his glare just as dark as her own. Their eyes clashed violently, both too stubborn to let go. But after a while he just sighed, closing his eyes and extending his left arm out, now refusing to make eye contact. Even as she stared at him suspiciously he simply looked away toward the window. "You said you'd fix my other arm after your match."

Blinking, she stared at him for a long moment before sighing, caving in. He had remembered that? Stepping toward him she gingerly pressed her fingers into his forearms, testing it much like she had back at the sports festival. A few days of rest had done wonders, making the knots a little more difficult to find, though not impossible. With the way he went full out there were all sorts of issues with his arms, and she dug her fingers violently into his arm to massage them out. She heard him suck in a sharp breath, inhaling and muttering a small curse under his breath at the pain. Rei's lips twitched as his refusal to show any pain, easing up just barely so that he wouldn't sense too much of a difference.

"Breathe." She concentrated on her work, but she could feel the tension in his body. "You'll make it worse if you don't get oxygen to your muscles while I do this." Feeling his body relax as he slowly released his breath, she continued to massage his arms out, this time going all the way to his palms and fingers. The joints were certainly stiff underneath all the muscles, but as the minutes passed she could feel them loosening naturally in her grip. After working on the left she gave a small pat to his hand, releasing it and watching as he held it up to his face, right hand touching the spots where she had gone all in.

Taking it as her sign to leave, she swooped around his figure and made her way back to her desk. Removing the stack of papers from her bag she began shuffling the piles around her desk, making neat stacks in various spots. Settling down to get to work, she pulled out a pencil and sighed as she picked up from where she had left off. _Yoroi Musha?_ She had to admit, the prospects were tempting. She considered Todoroki's advice that she simply select the top rated agency, but she found herself unable to commit. To her, it wasn't a fit, though she put an 'x' next to it for her to look back at later. With a sigh she scanned through the rest of the paper before setting it to the side. The last one looked somewhat promising, but it was far north...

A hand snatched the paper she had just discarded, earning a sigh from Rei as she turned her head to look at Bakugou with a single eyebrow raised. Red eyes scanned over the paper before his brow twitched, anger rising as he looked at Rei. "Oi, you can't be serious!" He pointed at the name, yelling at Rei. "Don't tell me you're turning down Yoroi Musha!"

Rei blinked. "I'm considering it."

"Are you stupid?"

At this Rei found herself getting angry. Snatching the paper from Bakugou she placed it back into its rightful pile, directing a passionate glare in his direction. "Don't mess up my stacks, and don't complain. Go decide who you're going to intern with."

"Hah!" He leaned against the windows, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I've already decided. I'm going with Best Jeanist."

"Why? Because he's the top ranked agency you received?"

"Duh. What other reason would there be? I already told you that."

Rei considered the thought of seeing Bakugou at Best Jeanist's agency, lips twitching as she tried to keep her face neutral. Such a gentlemanly and proper hero would surely clash with Bakugou's rough-around-the-edges nature. Bakugou saw her struggling to maintain her composure, his own eye twitching. "Oi! What are you laughing about?"

Finally caught, Rei barked out a laugh, pressing a hand to her mouth after releasing the one breath. Inhaling deep she steadied her breathing, simply moving on to the next paper. "Best of luck, hero."

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" He snatched up the next paper, giving it a look over before tossing it aside. "I wouldn't go with that agency either. Too rural."

She sent a scrupulous glance to her side before an idea struck her in the head. Taking three of the papers she handed them to Bakugou, all the while picking up the next one to read. He snatched the stack away without question, although he couldn't say silent and in the dark for too long. "What the hell do you want me to do with this?"

"If you're going to annoy me, at least make yourself useful." Pulling another pencil from her pencil case, she extended her hand in his direction, smiling as he snatched it from her grip. "I need an agency that deals with more underground activities. Drug busting, that sort of thing. Try to keep it to busiers cities so I'll get something out of it." She paused. "If you help me, I'll massage your arms again."

She could hear him bitterly muttering to himself, but a quick glance confirmed that he was indeed focusing on the task at hand. Gleefully she returned to her list, reading through the agencies meticulously along with their briefings. The minutes flew by, but Rei still felt as though she was getting nowhere. Her placid face had slowly dragged into a scowl once more that only seemed to deepen as time advanced. Her lips were pouting, scrunched up as she wrinkled her nose. Was there seriously nothing for her, out of over three hundred potential agencies? Marking another agency as a potential, she discarded the sheet to the side.

"Here." A sheet of paper was thrust into her face, Rei picking it out of a hand delicately as she looked at one that had a star next to the title. Blinking, she looked at it more closely, a bit irritated that, of all people, Bakugou had been the one to find it. She had to double check just to be sure that she wasn't imagining things, but her eyes didn't seem to be lying.

"Hero: Black Panther. Agency in Hosu." Rei blinked slowly. "This… is good."

Tossing the pencil back onto Rei's desk, Bakugou leered. "Good? It's basically what you described, word for word."

"Thank you."

He looked startled, stiffening as Rei turned with a warm smile on her face. "Now I don't have to stress."

Shifting his weight, he broke eye contact, looking to the side. "Whatever."

With the smile still on her face, she stretched her hands out toward him, palms facing up. He stared for a moment before removing his right hand from his pocket, pushing off from the wall and stepping closer to Rei. She turned in her chair to face him, taking his arm and pressing on various points again, repeating the process. Some of the spots she had touched were still tender, but the circulation was already much better from when she had last massaged it back a few days prior. They sat and stood in silence for a minute, Rei concentrating on her work.

"How do you know how to do this?"

It was the first time that day where he had asked her something without sounding angry or even passive aggressive. She smiled, running her thumbs upward and pressing down hard, moving slowly. "Breathe," she reminded him, listening to him slowly sucking air in through his nose and exhaling through his mouth. She moved with his breaths, syncing with his natural cadence. "My mentor did this for me a lot when I started training harder. My legs are a lot stronger than my arms, so the learning curve was a lot sharper for me when it came to figuring out what my limits were for my arms." She slid her hands down to his wrists, beginning to work on his palms and hands like she had the other side.

His hands were warm and strong, Rei almost feeling like her hands were slender twigs compared to his grip. To her surprise they weren't sweaty as she expected, perhaps due to the fact that he was trying to withhold himself from secreting any extra sweat at this point. She felt self conscious, feeling his eyes looking down at her. It almost felt like she was a little kid trying not to get caught doing something suspicious, and she found herself too nervous to look up. Finishing up, she gave his hand a pat once again, this time letting him pull his hand away. She felt his fingertips dragging over her skin, and she repressed a shudder than ran up her spine.

"Thanks."

So surprised, she looked up in shock, freezing in place. Her heart stopped in her chest, time freezing for just a moment. Looking down at her with those red eyes she had come to know so well, she found herself locked in his gaze, a gentle and calm look on his face. Her breath hitched, lips parting in surprise. He looked so at peace, the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders as he looked down softly back at her.

Only one other time had she seen him so relaxed. The memory suddenly made her heart beat quickly, time speeding back up-

The warning bell rang, footsteps could be heard storming through the hallway.

The door slammed open. "Oi! Bakugou!"

The shift was instantaneous, Bakugou growling at the door and immediately popping off. "What do you want, shitty hair?!"

"That's not really fair, our hair looks the same."

Scoffing he stormed back to his seat, sitting down and returning to his usual, fuming self. It was the like switch had been flipped back on in an instant, and Rei was left blinking and staring into space where he had just been. Had she imagined it all? Was she going mad?

Turning back into her seat, she watched as the rest of 1-A began filing back in, Momo suddenly sitting down in front of her and pulling Rei's attention back to her. "Oh, how much further did you get?"

Rei smiled sheepishly, trying to pull herself back together. "Actually, I think I've decided."

"Really? That's wonderful! Where have you decided?"

As Rei lifted the paper with the star, she allowed Momo to inspect the item, taking a moment to look down the aisle at a certain blonde. It seemed as though nothing had changed at all between them, his fiery and antagonistic personality back and functioning. Had it been a strange dream? But as she peered around she could see him rolling his wrists, touching his forearms and rubbing his hands up and down them mindlessly. It was enough to put a small smile on her face, though she vanished it as soon as possible, turning her attention back to her deskmate in front of her.

Time would proceed, as it always had. She would tuck away these feelings in her chest for another time.

* * *

AN: We've hit over 100k! So here's a celebratory early morning chapter, a little earlier than I had planned!

Also, I'm completely wiped. **I've written over 30k for this story in two days** in an effort to try and shift things around faster for everyone. I don't know how I've done it, but your reviews have seriously helped out. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

**Guest Review: **I tried to get this chapter out faster for you in hopes that it would explain things faster. When I was outlining for this story a few months ago, I had planned to introduce my original characters over a stretch of time in order for it to be less overwhelming. So if this addition isn't clear, I'll explain: Reina was Rei's tutor all the way up through the U.A. entrance exam. On the day of the exam, Reina was involved in a car accident and was in a coma. She wakes up on the day of the sports festival. That's why we haven't really seen her (although I've been making very small references to her throughout the chapters in the present day too, although that might have been really difficult to read). Anyway, hope this chapter clears things up!

tl;dr: Reina's been absent until now for both for plot reasons and for meta/ overarching writing reasons

**dragontamer64: **Hahaha, sorry for updating so late! Here's an early morning update as an apology! And yeah, poor Rei... she's literally my punching bag. I didn't realize it myself until I started editing and revising, and I was like "damn... what have I done to my poor child?"

And as always, please leave a review! Let me know how you like things, or whatever; it seriously helps me push chapters out faster.


	12. Internships (Part 1)

Chapter 12

Internships (Part 1)

* * *

At last, the day for their internships came.

The class had briefly shown up at the school to pick up their costumes before heading to the station all together. Aizawa was the one to see them off, voice somehow managing to project over the noise of the station. Rei, if anything, was impressed. To be completely honest, she had never expected that their monotone homeroom teacher would ever speak above a mutter, but U.A. was proving things wrong about everything all the time.

"You all have your costumes, right?" He leveled them with a look of warning, staring into each and everyone's eyes. "Remember, you're not allowed to wear them in public. Don't drop them or anything."

"Yes!" Ashido sprung up energetically, one of the few who had a frightening amount of energy going about the day. Rei cringed at the shrillness of her voice, her long and drawn out affirmative grating on her nerves. Frankly, it was both too early and too much to handle at any given hour regardless, especially when the acoustics in the station were as terrible as they were. Hopefully she wouldn't be on the same train as her. Rei didn't want to think of the nightmares that would ensue.

"Speak clearly, Ashido! It's just a curt, 'yes,' when you get there." The reprimand was enough to dull Ashido's energy marginally, the girl slumping over with a less energetic "yes" in response to Aizawa's correction. Turning to look at the rest of the class once again, Aizawa continued. "Make sure you mind your manners with the pro heros! Off with you now."

The class snapped to attention as their teacher finally left them, allowing them to finally relax. Yaoyorozu turned to Rei, who was standing to her right on the edge of the group. "Good luck, Akatsuki-san. Text me how it goes!"

Rei nodded. "Yeah." Biting her lip, the motion drew Momo's attention for a moment longer, the girl looking at her in concern.

"Akatsuki-san?"

"I've been thinking," Rei began, looking back into Momo's eyes a bit sheepishly. "Call me 'Tsuki-chan,' if you want."

Ever since Yaoyorozu had told Rei to call her by her first name, Rei had felt slightly sad that she hadn't extended the same courtesy to her friend. She wasn't ready to give her first name yet, but neither did she want Yaoyorozu to continue calling her something so formal. She had been about to launch into an explanation in order to fill the space and try to make things less awkward, but Momo cut her off abruptly with a brilliant smile. "Okay! Tsuki-chan. I like it! Take care over the next week!"

Rei smiled, the two waving goodbye as Momo raced off to find her train. She watched her spiky black hair bobbing through the crowd until it disappeared around the corner, making Rei sigh. There was no question that Rei was excited for the internships, but at the same time, a week without seeing Yaoyorozu was going to feel weird. She would even miss her other classmates, if she was honest. Their bright energy had latched onto her, and now that she was about to be faced with their absence she realized how much she had grown to enjoy them. Every one of them.

Well, to be honest, she was still on the rocks about Mineta, but that was a given.

"Hey, Akatsuki-san!"

Rei turned around, watching as Kaminari, Sero, and Kirishima quickly approached her. Bakugou was following at a more lazy pace, costume case slung over his shoulder in a casual manner. Kaminari was the first to pull out his phone, unlocking the smart device and almost shoving it into Rei's hands. "Let's exchange phone numbers so we can all text during our internships!"

She blinked once before nodding her head. Silently she put her name into each of their phones, handing over her own phone so that it could be passed around as well. Their group began to get bigger as almost all of 1-A began a phone exchange, everyone eagerly tapping in their numbers. Rei was almost certain she had lost her phone to the group until Uraraka handed it back to her with a smile, placing her own phone in Rei's hands. "Will you exchange numbers with me?"

Nodding, she accepted the flip phone, blinking in surprise. Everyone else had smartphones, this being the first flip phone she had seen besides her own in a while. Looking up to Uraraka, the bubbly girl shared a knowing smile with her, making Rei's eyes soften.

Uraraka knew. She knew what it was like to not come from money.

"Bakugou! Let's exchange numbers!"

"Like I want to text you, shitty hair!" Bakugou barked back at Kirishima, but found the redhead's phone in his hands anyway. With a growl he punched in his number rather aggressively, chucking the phone back through the air in a violent manner and aiming for his friend's head. It was easily plucked out of the air with a grin and a thanks, which only seemed to irritate the explosive boy further. He started to walk away, but a hand and a new phone was suddenly thrust in front of him. Blinking, he looked to the side to see Rei, who was staring blankly in front of her. But after he stared longer at her action she finally turned her head to the side, a neutral mask on her face.

"Will you?"

He scowled, but snatched the phone from her hand, aggressively tapping the keys to enter his information. When he finished he dropped the phone back into Rei's hands. She had been about to leave, but the boy shoved a fist into her face along with a sleek black phone, forcing her to stop in her tracks. Blinking once, then twice, she looked back at Bakugou.

"Hurry up," he uttered in a lowly voice, "I'm not gonna miss my train for you."

Rei smiled, a tiny smile but warm nonetheless. She quickly tapped her information into his phone, handing it back quickly and placing it in his palms. "Good luck."

Rolling his eyes, he shoved his phone into his pocket. "I don't need luck."

"Then," she amended, "good skill, this week."

It was a strange notion and one that he had clearly not heard before, but he got the idea. With a solemn nod and an under the breath mutter of farewell to Rei he broke off from the group, not bothering to say any more goodbyes. Rei watched his back as he walked away, noticing the way that his shoulders were pulled up more straight than usual. It filled her chest with a sense of satisfaction, watching him walk with confidence into the distance. She hoped that his internship would be fulfilling; after all, he was going with Best Jeanist…

To be honest, she wasn't sure what he was going to learn, but she sure as hell knew that Bakugou's expectations would most likely be shattered from the moment he walked in.

Waving goodbye to her classmates, she set off to find her own train. Hosu City wasn't a terrible distance away, but she had never been to the platform before. After consulting a map she was off, marching toward her destination with a few minutes to spare.

The train had already arrived, Rei putting her bags away and settling into her seat. It would be a long ride. Now was the perfect time for a nap.

* * *

Upon arrival in Hosu City she began her search for Black Panther's agency. Rei walked quickly through the streets, eyes alert as she walked around the area and scanned her surroundings. Hosu was definitely an urban city with a large variety of upscale towers and modest buildings that spanned out from the center. Her search for Black Panther's agency had her walking a slight bit away from the center, in a more modest area of town. Most of the buildings didn't reach above five or six stories, a conglomerations of small businesses and other shops that lines the streets. There were a surprising amount of people walking around, filling the city with a life that Rei hadn't ever really seen in her hometown. Her area was more of a suburban setting, and she felt rather strange in such a metropolis.

Still, it filled her with excitement, the thrill of being in an urban city making her blood pump. It was no secret that, the more populated and urban an area, the more villains appeared. She wondered if she would be able to go on a mission to restrain a villain, but she had to calm herself from getting too far ahead. She was still only a first year in high school; she would be lucky just to see the day to day routine of a pro-hero in action. Continuing on her way, she kept herself on high alert, taking in the sights and making sure to orient herself properly.

To Rei's fortune, the agency wasn't difficult to find. After turning off of the main street onto a somewhat smaller road she found the building one block away, easily accessible to the main street. It was humble in comparison to its surrounding neighbors, only two stories high, but its appearance was polished and incredibly well maintained, tinted windows glittering without a single speck to mar its appearance. Nerves began to pool in her stomach. Swallowing hard, she rolled her shoulders back and lifted her head high. First impressions were important. She walked through the sliding glass double doors, making her way into the reception area.

Clean. That was her first impression. Everything was sparkling and well maintained, from the sparkling floor tiles to the well maintained plants that livened up the space. The woman at the front was dressed smartly, looking up with a polite smile on her face as Rei approached the desk. "How can I help you?"

"I'm Akatsuki Rei, from U.A., here to begin my internship."

The woman smiled warmly, standing up from the desk. "Excellent. Chirasaki is waiting for you in his office." She gestured for Rei to follow her, leading her to an elevator to the second floor. The ride was silent, making Rei even more nervous, but she kept her face smoothed over, ever the image of a placid, calm, and put together intern. There was enough to keep her mind busy anyway, like how the receptionist had just called the pro hero by his name. Was that something that was normal in this setting, a casual acknowledgement of one another? Already this place was slightly different than Rei's initial expectations, although admittedly she didn't have too many.

Upon emerging onto the top floor they walked down a long hallway that ran against the wall facing the front of the agency, windows on the left and other offices and rooms on the right. The afternoon light was streaming in, reflecting off the glass even as the tinted windows minimized most of the sparkle. It was still bright, Rei's eyes narrowing in order to cut the flood of light. Thankfully she wasn't exposed to it for long, as the duo made their way to the end of the hall. The receptionist knocked on the door sharply before opening it and poking her head in. "Chirasaki, the intern from U.A. is here for you."

"Good. Thank you, Hana-san." The man's voice was deep, solid and a bit intimidating as it sounded from around the corner. The receptionist bowed, pushing the door open further and beckoning Rei to enter, closing the door behind the girl as she left. Leaving the two in silence Rei marched forward to stand in front of the desk, bowing formally at the waist

"I'm Akatsuki Rei. Thank you for the opportunity to learn from your agency. I look forward to working with you."

"Thank you for choosing our agency. I know you must have had many to choose from. I look forward to working with you as well." Rei lifted her head, straightening up and taking the time to truly look at her superior for the next week. She had heard rumors and seen some pictures in the news, but she quickly found that images didn't do the infamous Black Panther any justice upon meeting him in person.

He was incredibly muscular, a hulking frame that looked as though he could snap Rei in half just from grabbing her in his hands. But for all the differences in physicality, she couldn't help but find that the two of them were very similar; both had deep golden eyes and black hair, though Chirasaki's was long and tied into a high ponytail. From what information she had gleaned in preparation for the internship he was an absolute powerhouse, a man who was feared and respected for not only his strength but his sharp wits and clever strategies. He no longer infiltrated illegal rings due to his fame, but he always was the first to lead his teams to destroying and busting locations. All throughout he was humble, always deferring to the police and keeping quiet about himself. And for all that he had the respect of many.

She couldn't help but be intimidated in his presence. All around he was impressive, and Rei had naturally been drawn to his agency once Bakugou had pointed it out. Located in a bustling city, it couldn't have been any more perfect, and the fact that he was relatively well known and had a good reputation was also a solid plus. Looking sharp, she vowed that she would do her absolute best, giving her all. It was what a man of his stature and reputation deserved in the very least.

He gestured for her to take a seat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Have a seat. I just need to finish up some paperwork before we get started."

Rei set her bags down on the ground, easing into the plush chair. She sat near the edge, not quite sure if she was meant to relax quite yet. Was this a test? Chirasaki turned a pair of golden eyes onto Rei, curiosity in them even as he turned back to the work in front of him. "So," he began, "why did you choose my agency? I'm sure there were other higher ranking pro-heros that have their eye on you as well."

Placing her hands in her lap, Rei considered his question for a moment. Eventually she decided that honesty would be the best tactic. "I wanted to choose an agency that best fit what I wanted."

"And what would that be?"

"I want to work with agencies that have experience primarily with busting quirk trafficking rings." Her bluntness garnered a look from the corner of his eyes, watching Rei carefully as she continued. "It's a dream that I've had for a few years now. To be frank," she summarized, choosing her own words carefully, "I know I won't be getting any direct experience as a high school student. I'm looking to establish connections since I'm riding the fame from the sports festival, so that I'll have better chances once I graduate."

Chirasaki put down his pen, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, moving his full attention to the young girl that sat across from him. His golden eyes glittered with something akin to amusement though still serious, meeting Rei in a solid stare that would have been intimidating to most people. But she was used to making eye contact with people who had worse personalities; without looking too confrontational and aggressive she met his gaze, looking back at him with determination. She had meant everything she had said, and she wouldn't take it back.

In the end he smirked. "You're honest and concise. I like that. Reina-san wasn't lying when she said I'd like you."

Blinking, Rei tilted her head. "Reina..." Golden eyes widened. "You know Reina?"

"Yeah. We're family friends, technically speaking." Uncrossing his arms to clasp his hands and place them on his desk, he leaned forward. "To be honest, I thought that Reina had told you about my application, and that was why you had chosen to come here." His smile still on his face, Rei couldn't help but hope that she some day looked like him; welcoming enough, but leaking dangerous vibes that warned people not to mess with him. "To know that you chose me on your own decision, and to know that you're honest, that's what I like in people. I look forward to working with you."

So it had been a sort of test, and Rei had passed. She smiled, face matching his own. "As do I."

Chirasaki stood from his desk, allowing Rei to see his full costume. It was a skin tight bodysuit, much like her own, although his was more clearly plated with metal pieces to protect himself. She knew that his gloves hid his retractable metal claws, massive metal blades that extended over his hands and acted as claws that could shred through almost every sort of metal. On his waist was a utility belt, filled with various items that Rei couldn't quite distinguish. It made her realize how similar their uniforms were, making her almost sheepish.

"Change into your costume. We'll be going on patrol soon. I'll explain to you in detail what this week will entail along the way. Meet down in the foyer as soon as you're ready."

Rei stood up sharply, hands at her side. "Yes, sir!"

* * *

It was nearing the end of April, and the afternoon was warm. Rei had discarded the jacket that she normally wore over her bodysuit, keeping it in her costume container as she stowed it away. The belts around her waist and hips barely stood out even now that they were unobscured, though Rei had to admit that she felt a little bare without the coat. The function of the jacket was first and foremost to provided more pockets, acting as additional storage and less of an item to keep her warm. She was forced to slip her phone inside one of the flat cases that rested on the side of her thigh now that she was lacking her jacket, muting its sound and leaving it on vibrate. One never knew when a phone would come in handy, so she kept it on her body.

When she arrived in the foyer she saw that her superior was ready to go, adjusting something on his wrists before looking up to see her approach. He nodded affirmatively as he looked over her costume, a grin slowly spreading across his face as he took her in. "By that costume, you already look like my sidekick."

Rei smiled, but the face mask was already on, obscuring the motion save for the way her eyes crinkled slightly at the corners. "It was meant to be," she answered dryly, earning a chuckle from the man. Now that she looked at him, knowing that he was a friend of Reina, she could see that he was indeed rather young, barely getting to his thirties. She wondered just how well they knew each other, but squashed the thought down as he led the way through the streets.

"When we're out here, call me Black Panther, or Panther. Either one will do. I'm sure you learned about the importance of code names?"

Nodding solemnly, Rei replied. "It's important to keep a line between work and personal life. Otherwise, your personal life is basically ruined."

"Right." They made their way to the main street, turning right and walking further away. "But not just for interacting with civilians. It applies to villains too." He looked over his shoulder for a moment before motioning for Rei to follow at his side. She had to jog a bit to catch up, but she fell into step with his quick strides. "Your name is Meishin? Why did you choose that?"

"Originally I was going to go with Black Cat, but I decided against it. Didn't want to live in association with the American hero. But my quirk is called Nine Lives, so I decided to keep with the theme a little bit."

He hummed, nodding his head. "It's creative, I'll give you that, and it's a pretty good name. But you still have some time to decide, just in case you're still not sure." Looking around, he changed the topic, getting down to business. "As you might know, my agency most deals with covert operations and joint strike teams with the police. Usually there wouldn't be much for us to do during this week, except for training. But unfortunately that Hero Killer has been pretty active in Hosu, so we've been enlisted to help do extra rounds with the other agencies in the city."

"Hero Killer…" Rei looked up at her mentor. "That's the guy that took out Ingenium, right?"

"That's right. A real shame; that man's a real honorable and respectable guy. It hurt to see him go down like that." Suddenly a connection hit him. "That's right, wasn't his younger brother in the sports festival as well?"

"Iida-san is in my class at school."

"Isn't that right?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Your year is really filled with potential. Good to see an entire class really shining."

Internally she beamed at the praise. She thought the same as well. To hear that others outside U.A. saw their potential made her spirits lift a little more. But she remained as cool on the outside as ever, head on a swivel as she looked around the town. Now that the afternoon was wearing on there were more and more people showing up, meaning that Rei was receiving even more stares than before. Most of them were being thrown to the Black Panther, who was physically intimidating and towered above almost everyone, but there were also glances being shot at Rei's small figure walking purposefully next to his, keeping up with his powerful strides.

He continued to talk, his baritone voice soothing as he kept it down low enough so that he wouldn't disturb the other people on the street. It helped Rei keep her wits about her, her ears thanking the heavens that he wasn't an incredibly loud person. Immediately she felt guilty as she thought of Iida, but she tried to keep focused on the man next to her in the present moment. "I know we're patrolling now, but most of our patrols are set to be in the late evening. We tend to take most of the afternoon and graveyard shifts, since the other heroes already work during the day time. During that time we'll be training. Hope you're ready to get beaten up."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

Chirasaki seemed pleased with her response. "Well then, what would you like to know? Ask anything."

She thought carefully to herself, trying to think of what she wanted to know. Really, what wasn't there that she wanted to know? She had so many questions, trying to narrow it down to one at a time was proving to be difficult. "Can you tell me about how operations work at your agency? How do people get assignments, and what do they look like."

"That," he began, "is probably a question best answered back at the agency. Don't want any other people listening in to that conversation."

Rei nodded. It was about what she had expected, but she had tried anyway. At least they would have something on the agenda to talk about once they got back. So instead she went a little more personal, something almost completely opposite from the top secret nature of the job. "How do you know Reina?"

This time he grinned widely, a devious look that made Rei look up in anticipation. "Originally it was our parents who knew each other. We grew up together, went to the same elementary and middle school and everything. After that, I went to hero school, and she went off to a private high school and Tokyo University." The smile dropped from his face, returning to something more serious. "We kept in touch loosely after that. I've been busy with my work, and she's been doing… whatever. Probably trying to escape her parents."

The mention of Reina's parents brought an immediate scowl to Rei's face. Her eye twitched, thinking back to their first and only interaction at the hospital, the day that Reina had slipped into a coma. "I hate them." The sentiment slid from her mouth before she could stop herself, but fortunately Chirasaki didn't seem too phased by her words.

"I'm guessing you've met them in person then. They're well intended when it comes to their daughter, but it comes off as overbearing and strict." Shrugging his shoulders, he sighed. "Well, it doesn't help that Reina's still rebelling. They sent her to Tokyo so that she could get her business degree, but that was about the last time she obeyed them. They've been fighting ever since she graduated."

"Fighting?" Rei was slightly surprised. For all that she knew, she hadn't known that Reina was actually actively fighting with her parents. All these years Reina in fact had never once mentioned any details about her relatives, mostly pushing them away by saying that she didn't get along with them well. But actually fighting, that was news. Still, with the way her parents acted, Rei didn't blame Reina. They were total jerks, from her limited experience.

But Chirasaki looked surprised. "They've been trying to get her to take over the family business for years. But Reina started resisting. They still support her in their own way, but they don't talk anymore. I'm just lucky that they still like me, so that I can get discounts on their merchandise."

"Merchandise?"

"Reina didn't tell you?"

She tried to fight the hurt, looking to the ground. From the way this conversation was going, Reina really hadn't told her anything. Why hadn't she? And why did she have to find all this out from her mentor for the next week?

But Black Panther only talked on, not seeing the internal struggle that Rei was fighting. "The Fujiwara's have almost a complete monopoly on specialty textiles and raw materials, specifically those used by support companies for hero costumes. Reina's their only child, so they're trying to get her to take over. But she started refusing a few years ago."

"I… didn't know."

A hand dropped onto her shoulder, making her jump as she was brought out of her sulking and betrayal. Golden eyes that were wiser than her own stared down with compassion and a bit of pity. "Reina probably didn't tell you because she didn't want you to worry. From what she's told me, she loves you like her own family. She's naturally a very happy and outgoing person, but the conflict especially with her father has really taken a toll on her. She probably didn't want you to worry about her."

Scoffing, Rei partially rolled her eyes. "Well now I'm definitely going to worry about her. Parents are dumb."

He laughed, patting her on the shoulder. "I won't fight you on that one."

They took a turn down another street, a commercial avenue with bright electronics sticking out from the buildings and hovering over the walkways below. Rei's thoughts continued to turn in her head. Reina and Chirasaki were childhood friend. From the way he talked, they continued to talk with one another, and he knew almost everything about Rei. But that meant…

"So, you know I don't have parents."

Much to her surprise, he only shrugged his shoulders. "Parents or no, the only thing that matters in this world is what you do. Reina's worked to give you a chance, from what I can tell. And you're doing fine, just as is. Believe me. And now," he grinned, "it's my turn."

Rei only nodded in response as he looked between her and the road ahead of them. "I watched the sports festival. Most people were watching that Bakugou and Todoroki kid, and even that Tokoyami boy was impressive. They all have flashy quirks that they all knew how to use pretty well during a fight, so it's no surprise that they made it to the top four."

Even if the pro hero didn't mean it, the words dug into her feelings, chipping away at her composure. She had faced this fact multiple times, so much that it irritated her. She knew that, by the way he was phrasing it, he was leading up to making assumptions about her own abilities, her plainness in comparison. There was a chip in her shoulder about the sports festival still, and she hated it when people brought it up. But when the pro hero opened his mouth again, Rei found herself surprised.

"You not only were one of two girls out of sixteen to make it to the second round, but you made it to the semifinals. All the while, you kept the audience guessing about what your quirk is. I've seen some of your abilities, but now I want to hear from you. So tell me," he beckoned. "What can you do?"

During the sports festival, Present Mic had completely ignored her quirk, summarizing her as a general beast that was incredibly pain tolerant and sharp thinking. For the first two rounds she had managed to keep most of her abilities a secret, forced to show more of her hand during her fight with Todoroki as things got hairy. She had been described as a mystery, a dark and shadowy figure that no one could figure out. All this time, she had brushed it off, keeping to herself and away from the group.

But now, someone was actively asking for her skillset.

It was the first time that she could actually remember someone being genuinely interested in knowing what her quirk was and how it manifested in her body. The last time she had been invited to talk about herself in this manner, it was when she had her first conversation about becoming a hero with Reina, back in her first term of middle school. She was so shocked that her brain short circuited for a moment before regaining cognition, trying to organize the information so she could present it more clearly. Was this what Kaminari felt like when he overexerted his final move?

"The most notable feature is that my gracilis muscles are strong," she began, "just like a cat. I can leap high into the air. Over the years I've trained my stamina so I'm better at long distance running and taking fall damage. I can fall from a twelve story building at this point without breaking my bones."

She watched as he nodded, arms folding over his chest again as he began to think. Taking it as a gesture to continue, she spoke quickly but efficiently. "My arms are probably my weakest point, but I've been trying to build them up as well. My nails are retractable, as you probably saw in the sports festival."

"Right, you scaled that ice wall that Todoroki put up." He grimaced. "Doesn't that hurt your bones? The chill?"

"Yeah, but I had to do it. Otherwise I would fall or get eliminated immediately."

He muttered something half to himself, something about her being a tough kid. It made her lips twitch, but she continued on. "Overall, I'm flexible like a cat, and my senses are heightened. I have better hearing and smell than most people, and my eyes can see in low light."

"There's one more thing, isn't there?" Golden eyes clashed with one another. "You were impaled by an ice spike. There's no way you should have been standing on that podium if you were normal."

Sighing, she looked away. "We thought it was regeneration, but Recovery Girl said it was something more. It's powerful enough that it can bring me back from the brink of death." _Or from actually being dead_. She decided not to add that last piece of information, lest that lead to more questions about her knowledge and understanding of her quirk.

Fortunately it seemed like enough for Chirasaki. "I see. That's a lucky ability to have, indeed. Really give the name Nine Lives and Superstition a whole new meaning."

Rei's lips twitched. "That is the point, I guess."

"Thank you for sharing with me. I appreciate your honesty. So then," he grinned, "are you up for a game?"

* * *

The game ended up being an obstacle course around Hosu City, the two cat quirks racing across the skylines in a chase. Rei had to follow his exact course, sailing over gaps between buildings on occasion and dropping to the ground in others. It was exhilarating, but as time wore by she found her stamina sorely tested and wavering. The sun had long set in the sky by the time they finished, landing in a quiet area on the fringes of Hosu. Rei gasped for air, panting as she tried to keep her posture upright in order to maximize the amount of air she took in. Chirasaki on the other hand looked as though he had barely broken a sweat, surprisingly agile and fast for someone so large in physique.

He merely gestured for Rei to follow him into a restaurant, opening the door for her as they slid in. The owner and chefs greeting them with a shout, Rei muttering her own response and dipping her head courteously as they sat down in a booth. Steaming cups of tea were placed before them, Chirasaki handing her a menu for her to look at. "They have the best takoyaki here, just as good as street food during festival season in my opinion."

At this Rei immediately perked up, eyes scanning the list for the item before finding it in the appetizers. "Can I… order it as a meal?"

"Eat up, kid. It's on me." He chuckled as her eyes widened, licking her lips in anticipation and looking more like a tiny, starving student rather than an apprentice. Watching her as she placed her order, he internally grinned at her reserved motions that betrayed her excitement. She was collected and calm on the outside, but he could see her personality peeking out from below her shell. Reina had really picked a keeper.

Waving off the waitress with an order for his usual, the two of them sat in companionable silence, sipping their tea in the cool evening.

"Why did you extend an offer to me?"

Blinking, the man looked back at his temporary student. "I saw potential in you. Your style reminded me of myself back when I was your age." She seemed surprised by this admission, although it appeared that she seemed to put the pieces together. Even now they were ridiculously similar, from the way they acted, the way their quirks worked, all the way down to the costumes they wore. If they weren't careful, they could have been mistaken for siblings. Blowing on his tea to cool it down, he mused. "I had already put in my request when Reina called me a day later, asking for a favor."

"Reina asked you to take me?"

"From what she told me, you were apprehensive about the internships. She knew exactly what you wanted to do, so she asked me to step in. To be honest, she didn't have to. I already had my eyes on you."

Rei had removed her face mask, and he could now see her full expression. She smiled, raising the teacup to block her mouth. "But she did. I'm happy."

"She really cares for you, kid. Seriously."

"I know." But did she? Rei clearly had an idea, but Chirasaki saw things from a different perspective. Reina couldn't hide anything from him, and she certainly couldn't hide the fact that she adored the little black kitten with every fibre in her body.

He continued his explanation. "Do you know why you lost to Todoroki?"

Rei frowned. Back to the sports festival again. But this was a conversation she had held with herself multiple times, a hobby of hers being the nitpicking over her past failures and fights and how to improve. "There isn't just one reason," she admitted, tone suggesting that the conversation might be longer than he anticipated. But he gestured for her to continue with a wave of his hand. Rei conceded, jumping right in. "I wanted to win, but I guess he wanted to win more."

"A battle of wills," he agreed. "Strength of one's determination."

She nodded, continuing as she swirled her tea in her cup. "Also, I panicked right at the end. I knew that he was slowing down, and that I had to play the waiting game. But when he broke out of the circle I had tried to trap him in, I began to lose focus. I jumped too early, and he knocked me out of the air. That was my biggest mistake."

"I'll admit, I didn't realize that your jump had been a timing error. Logically it did make sense, although I understand now what you were thinking. But do you know what your biggest problem was?"

Immediately she shook her head, although her eyes glazed over and her face hardened as she began to think, trying to brainstorm ideas of what she had missed. "Upper body strength?" She suggested, though still unsure. "If I had been able to hold on to the ice a little longer, or had been able to pull myself up."

"That's also true, but eventually your fingers would have been numbed, making that ineffective." Nodding her head, she conceded to his answer, now watching him and waiting to learn. Chirasaki sat back in the booth, holding his mug in his hands.

"The best answer is that your stamina ran out." Rei seemed surprised, but she listened carefully with wide eyes, absorbing every piece of information she could. It was adorable, what with the way she hung on every word, but the pro hero moved along. "You said it yourself that he was slowing down. Remember that all quirks have their limitations. If you can outlast them, it doesn't matter if they're close range or long range. Eventually, you can close in for the kill, if you know how to wear them down."

But Rei only frowned, a scowl on her face. "But that was given that Todoroki didn't use his left side. If he did, he would almost be unstoppable."

"True, but the key is almost. Everyone has a downside, and as a hero you have to exploit their weaknesses if you can't immediately take them down."

Bowls of miso soup came, distracting them for another moment as they began to dig in. Rei sighed in contentment. Nothing beat a hot meal after a long day of working. But the day wasn't over yet; she had to keep reminding herself that they had night patrols coming up. She would be hard pressed to keep up after running the gauntlet, but Black Panther had promised her that she would want to die from getting run into the ground. Savoring the food as it came, she took the time to relax for just a little bit. She would need every bit of strength for the next seven days.

"So, tell me about U.A.. What's it like?"

"Challenging. High expectations everywhere. But it's worth it for the battle classes and the facilities."

"Yeah, I hear you. I actually went to Ketsubutsu, though I did apply for U.A.."

"Really? I applied there as well."

"Well, getting into U.A. was undoubtedly more prestigious and a better option. How did the practical exam go? Is it still the same?"

The rest of the meal passed casually, the two of them talking more freely now that they had begun working and established a common connection. Nearly an hour passed before Chirasaki paid the bill, mentioning that it was time to get a move on and start up the evening patrols. Rei followed at his side, sticking close as the two slipped in and out of conversation, talking about everything from highschool to patrol duties and other aspects of being a pro hero.

Deep down, Rei thanked Bakugou for picking Black Panther's agency. She would have to text him later.

* * *

Thankfully, Black Panther's agency had saved a temporary room for her to sleep. Down in the basement, which she hadn't realized existed until Chirasaki had led her to it, there were multiple rooms and showering facilities, all set up like a dorm room experience. He had explained that, on occasion after some strikes, some of their members didn't feel safe walking home or returning to their normal place of residence, lest they be staked out by vengeful criminals who wanted to catch them off guard. Rei was the only one in the women's side, but she wasn't alone; Chirasaki had mentioned that he usually slept in the building anyway since he tended to stay later than everyone else, and it was much more convenient to simply stay in one place. Finally left to her own devices she showered quickly and began getting ready to sleep.

It was only day one, and she had already learned so much. A part of her wondered if everyone else's internships were going similarly, if they were getting as much out of their experiences as she was. Or perhaps she was just lucky. It wasn't every day that someone shared a connection with a high ranked hero.

She had known that her phone had been going off around nine o'clock, just when she had been getting into their night shift for patrolling. She had fought the urge to check it, curious to see why it was literally ringing off the hook in her pocket. Temporarily forgetting that she had passed her phone around, she was forced to read a long thread involving almost everyone from class.

Reading through the class thread and essentially ignoring everyone, she turned to the other, more personalized messages that some other people had sent alone. She first turned to Momo's texts, shooting off a response to her friend, then gradually combing through the list and responding to whatever she wanted. Her fingers lingered on the last person, phone lighting up suddenly even at the early hour. By the time she finished answering everyone she was exhausted to the core, passing out just as she plugged her phone into the charger.

* * *

**Yaomomo (10:15 PM)**

_Finally got done! Good work today 3_

_I'm not sure what I'm doing at my agency to be honest_

_How's being in Hosu?_

**Yaomomo (10:47 PM)**

_Going to sleep soon_

_Text me, okay? _

**Tsuki (2:50 AM)**

_Just finished patrol_

_Definitely getting pushed hard_

_Black Panther is a friend of my mentor_

_Sleep well :)_

* * *

_[you have been added to the chat w/ 5 people]_

**Kaminari (9:12 PM)**

_I'm beat! This internship is no joke_

**Serophane (9:15 PM)**

_Same here! I'm definitely getting pushed_

**Kirishima (9:16 PM)**

_Tetsutetsu from 1-B is here with me!_

_[download image]_

**Kaminari (9:16 PM)**

_Woah, nice view! Luckyyy_

[Bakugou left the chat]

**Kaminari (9:16 PM)**

_boooooo :\_

[Bakugou has been added to the chat]

**Kirishima (9:17 PM)**

_Bakugou, how's your internship going?_

**Bakugou (9:17 PM)**

_Take me out of this damn chat you nerds_

**Kaminari (9:17 PM)**

_:0 _

**Kirishima (9:17 PM)**

:)

**Bakugou (9:18 PM)**

_I hate you all_

**Kirishima (9:18 PM)**

_C'mon don't be like that_

_How's your internship?_

**Bakugou (9:19 PM)**

_Fucking sucks_

**Bakugou (9:19 PM)**

_Stop texting me_

[Bakugou has left the chat]

**Kirishima (9:20 PM)**

_I'm gonna add him tomorrow when he's not looking_

_:)_

**Serophane (9:20 PM)**

_Wonder what's going on?_

**Serophane (9:20 PM)**

_Anyway i'm beat; good night all!_

**Kaminari (9:20 PM)**

_Akatsukiiiiiiii where are you?_

**Kirishima (9:20 PM)**

_Is she ignoring us?_

**Kaminari (9:21 PM)**

_Can't tell; doesn't show if she saw this_

_I'm gonna sleep too!_

**Kaminari (9:21 PM)**

_Goodnight!_

**Kirishima (9:21 PM)**

_Goodnight! _

_Akatsuki, text us when you can!_

**Akatsuki (2:51 AM)**

_Just finished patrolling_

_Night everyone_

* * *

**Bakugou (9:15 PM)**

_Better not be lost or dead_

_This internship blows_

**Akatsuki (2:52 AM)**

_I'm alive, idiot_

_Srsly? Why? _

**Bakugou (2:52 AM)**

_Why the hell are you up so late?_

**Akatsuki (2:52 AM)**

_Thought you went to sleep already_

**Bakugou (2:53 AM)**

_Damn phone woke me up_

**Bakugou (2:53 AM)**

_Answer the question_

**Akatsuki (2:53 AM)**

_Patrol just ended. We're taking late shifts_

_Extra patrols bc of the hero killer_

_What's wrong with ur agency_

**Bakugou (2:54 AM)**

_Tryin to reform me_

_Asshole_

**Akatsuki (2:54 AM)**

_Also its ur fault u didn't turn ur phone off_

**Bakugou (2:54 AM)**

_Tried to gel my fucking hair_

**Bakugou (2:54 AM)**

_Shut up_

**Akatsuki (2:55 AM)**

_Pics or it didn't happen_

**Bakugou (2:55 AM)**

_Fick off _

**Bakugou (2:55 AM)**

_Fick _

**Akatsuki (2:55 AM) **

_:(_

**Bakugou (2:55 AM)**

_fick _

**Bakugou (2:55 AM)**

_FUCK_

**Akatsuki (2:55 AM)**

_lol_

**Bakugou (2:56 AM) **

_Shut up and go to sleep already_

**Akatsuki (2:57 AM)**

_Night then_

* * *

Rei couldn't say things happened like clockwork, because things changed all the time. Chirasaki occasionally had private consultations, meaning that Rei was left on her own to train and mind her own business. Most of the time there were usually some of Black Panther's subordinates around during the day, who were more than happy to entertain and answer questions of the intern that floated in their office. She had become a sort of fixture, most of the workers calling her the mini Panther due to her small size but similar eyes and hair color, as well as matching outfits. Her delicate ears had picked up the whispered strains, but she found herself quite pleased with the likening to her superior.

Contrary to what she had expected, the mood of the office was light and maintained a level of fun. When she had asked one of the workers, they had explained that it was one of their ways of keeping the work environment positive, considering what sort of dark things they had to deal with on a daily basis. Everyone seemed to be on a first name basis, a strong sense of camraderie passing on to Rei as she watched everything with a critical eye. It certainly hadn't been expected, but it made her extremely happy to be in such a wonderful place.

She wondered if Chirasaki would take her back in the future for another internship, or perhaps as a sidekick some day when she graduated.

Every day he pushed her physical skills to the test, the two of them running through, over, and around the streets of Hosu. Much to Rei's disappointment they had yet to be called for any encounters with villains, but if anything that was a good thing, a testament to the fact that the heroes were doing their job. Running through the city she was getting a good feel for the layout, able to pick out locations quickly and run common routes with the Black Panther. She felt like a little house cat compared to him, but she couldn't deny that she was enjoying herself. They had agreed that her stamina needed to improve, and Chirasaki was set on making sure that she received the help she needed.

All the while, whispers of the hero killer continued to circle around their heads.

The villain had been strangely silent after taking down Ingenium, something that brought a sense of peace to some and a sense of anxiety to others. Chirasaki in particular belonged to the latter, and although he didn't voice his opinions around Rei she was beginning to take it in as well. Every time they sailed over a dark alleyway she couldn't help but watch her feet as they flew over, looking for suspicious persons and figures that hid in the dark.

For the most part, the daytime brought confidence and strength.

It was the darkness that brought a sense of urgency and a healthy dose of fear.

On the first night, Chirasaki had admitted that night patrols were more dangerous than the daytime patrols, the chances of unsavory people not limited to the hero killer meandering and looking for trouble much higher than when the sun was in the sky. But he made the executive decision to keep Rei with him during the night shifts, something that Rei had appreciated. He had mentioned that she had already fought villains in the past, and from watching her during the sports festival her skills were to be trusted. Placing that trust in her made Rei all the more determined to prove herself, keeping her on her toes at all times. She was proud to be placed with Chirasaki, and she was eager to show him that his faith was not misplaced.

By the time the third night began to settle in, Rei was confident that their pattern had been established. The two of them had finished running around the town, Chirasaki complimenting Rei on how her stamina was improving slowly. They had gone to dinner at the same restaurant as the first night, knowing how Rei had fallen in love with the takoyaki platter. By the time they finished they burst back out into the night, refreshed and ready to take on patrols.

Rei hadn't placed her face mask on her mouth and nose just yet, pausing as a scent drifted her way. She stopped just as Chirasaki did, the two of them lifting their faces to the night sky and sniffing tentatively, as though to confirm what their noses were telling them. It was then that the screams reached their ears, Chirasaki immediately taking off down the street. "Come on!" It was a command that had Rei closely running after him, the two scaling the closest building and rushing to find a high vantage point.

As soon as they got up high enough, Rei gasped at the sight.

The city lay in flames.

The screams could be heard more clearly from their new vantage point. But in the mix, a familiar groan could be heard in the distance, mingling in with the normal human noises that were easily distinguishable, and Rei's blood ran cold. She had heard something similar before, and although this shriek was different there was an inhuman quality that was shared by the one she had heard a few weeks previous. Rei had hoped to never hear it again, had prayed in her heart, frozen by the way that it struck fear into her chest. It was unstoppable. And now…

"Nomu…"

Chirasaki glanced between her and the city. "You know something about this?"

"That cry, it's the Nomu. The creature that tried to kill All Might at USJ." Rei turned to her superior, eyes wide. "It's not exactly the same, but it's close enough."

He frowned, but motioned for her to follow them. "Our priority is to clear civilians from the scene. But, if it comes down to it…" He looked at her head on, golden eyes deadly serious. "I give you permission to use your quirk to fight in combat."

Rei couldn't hide her surprise. "Seriously?"

"If this situation is as serious as you say, I'm not going to take any risks. I authorize you, as according to the law, to use your quirk to fight in combat." Eyes on her for a moment longer, he turned away. "Follow me closely. Prepare yourself."

He began to leap from building to building in order to get closer to the scene, taking a route over the rooftops and flying through the air. Rei followed close behind, pulling her face mask over her mouth and nose and trying to steady her breath.

It was happening all over again. The thought that there was a chance that she would come face to face with one of those dastardly creatures again made her blood run cold. If All Might had been hard pressed to fight one of them off, how would she manage here? But as she followed Black Panther into the fiery abyss, she found that her thoughts were pulled away from such fears as the civilians came into sight and the flames grew higher and higher, the destruction and broken glass coming into view.

Last time, she fought to save herself.

This time, she would fight to save others.

* * *

AN: I was just thinking the other day of how this story kind of started as a shit post/ test document that I wasn't really invested in since I was just tossing around ideas and trying to get myself to write. I never thought that people would actually enjoy this story or read it. So thank you to all of you who have followed and favorited this story so far. Words can't describe how surprised and shocked I am, but I'm thankful all the same for your support.

**In celebration of everything, the next update (Chapter 13) will take a break from the regular story. **Can you guess what it will be about? I've been working on it for a few days now, and I'm finally getting to the editing stage. Please look forward to the next update!

Leave a review and leave a guess as to what you think the next chapter will focus on! Even if you don't get it right, you might give me ideas for another special chapter in the future, so go wild!


	13. (un)lucky: Chapter 13 (Bonus)

**Chapter 13**

Somewhere, in an alternate universe...

* * *

_I cannot be awake for nothing looks to me as it did before,_

_Or else I am awake for the first time,_

_and all before has been a mean sleep._

_._

_\- Walt Whitman_

* * *

A strange dream she had had, filled with a marvel of colors and glistening square castles whose walls were made of the stillest lake surfaces she had ever seen. It was a strange place in which to get lost, with sights she could never have imagined on her own in the waking world. Breaking out from her sleep in the shoddy room at the tavern she had purchased the night before had never been so sweet. The worn and poorly cared for walls were a welcome sight after the bizarre nature of her dreams that had haunted her during the night. Perhaps it was a sign that she should sleep in the forests from now on, the comfort of a bed too much for her body and mind to handle.

But as her waking mind began to collect itself the dreams began to fade from her grasp, leaving her with a renewed sense of refreshment and only a sliver of a remnant of the feeling of unease. No, sleeping in a real bed was probably the best thing that had happened to her in the past week, let alone the past month. Sitting up on the edge of the aforementioned furniture Rei stretched her arms high into the air, a languid movement that was soon accompanied by one final yawn to dismiss the final tendrils of sleep from her mind. Blinking blearily she simply sat for a moment, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light that a single window provided, harsh sunlight filtering in through the pane. It was well into the morning, if not almost afternoon at this point. But she had deserved a good night's sleep; her last mission had been a rousing success, and her buyer had even pitched in an extra lump of coins for her haste. Splurging on a real room to rest in was well within her budget right. Perhaps she would go to the market and buy breakfast as well.

It was a luxury to buy things that Rei could do herself, but just for once, she would treat herself.

Over the past five years Rei had built a career for herself that had skyrocketed her mysterious persona into near fame across the lands. She had begun by running simple errands in villages large and small; a note delivered here, an escort to the neighboring village over there, whatever it took to rake in the cash she needed to survive. But there was only so much money to be found as a delivery girl. Even if everyone pretended that it didn't exist, the real money came from the underworld, the underbelly of society that dealt with the dirtier jobs that remained out of the light of day, often quite literally. Rei wasn't picky. She couldn't afford to be; money was money, and money was what was necessary to survive. There wasn't anything wrong with living out in the woods and foraging for supplies, but there were some things that only money could buy; clothes, a new waterskin, a whetstone for sharpening weapons.

So she gave in. The years passed. Whispers began to run amuck, even outside of the underworld. Rumors of an assassin whose face had never been seen by her enemies, striking them down with nary a witness to protest, a silent whirlwind with such precision that even the most surly warriors shuddered in fear of someday crossing paths or swords with her. She had never failed any mission, one of the most reliable and the most quick in the business. She was the death that her victims never saw coming. The only distinguishable feature about her was the fact that she carried a rapier with a black blade, and even that was a rumor that most people were uncertain about. No one even knew what gender the assassin was. What did it matter? All that mattered was that she was the best, and being the best meant that she could charge the most exorbitant prices.

If they could find her.

With no name known, and with people that doubted that she was a real person, people had assigned her an identity: the Black Whirlwind.

There was a legend that said the wind could not be contained, that people could only pray for its blessings and its favor. Similarly, people prayed that their heads would be saved from this torrential gale that could whip through a town in the dead of night, prayed that they would not be misfortunate when she came within range.

She was good at what she did. And sometimes, that meant spilling a little blood here and there.

But now was not the time to be thinking of such things. After the last few missions, she had decided to take a small break. Money was good, and she had been working nonstop for the past two months alone. It was time to take a week for herself, something she hadn't done in years. It was the reason why she had made her way to this coastal city on the far end of the western world, a rather large kingdom that sat under the rule of some king that ruled with an iron fist. Not like that last part mattered. All that mattered was that it was a large city, enough for her to just be another face in the crowd.

She would still wear her cloak though, as to avoid unwanted questions about her appearance. Changing into a new set of clothes she secured the cloak over her shoulders, the heavy and enchanted material swirling around her and stirring the dust motes in the lazy morning light. Deciding to keep the gear on her body light, she hid most of her weapons in a drawer, layering what clothes and other items she held in her pack on top of them in order to conceal them. The only weapon she kept on her body was her sword, the holster fastened to her hip and hidden away under her cloak. It was the only thing she would never leave behind, the item too precious and sentimental to leave her sight.

Throwing one last look around the room before deciding that everything was hidden away to a satisfactory degree, she gathered a small pouch of coins and tucked it into her pocket before exiting the room, locking it with a key and tucking it away safely. She stealthily walked down the stairs, her footsteps almost silent as she made her way into the main room of the tavern. The barkeep looked slightly startled at her silent approach, though he nodded rather congenially as she passed. Lifting a hand in temporary parting, Rei stepped out of the bar and into the streets, taking a moment for her eyes to adjust to the bright light before marching down the street.

For a while Rei simply took the time to wander around. This was the largest city she had ever been in, for a handful of reasons she didn't care to think about when it was such a beautiful and leisurely day. Admittedly the city was much more beautiful than what she had been raised to think about human structures, what with their crude, man-made towers of stone jutting into the sky in their hubris and greed for the ostentatious. While there were certainly areas where buildings had been slodged together in a hodge-podge of flurried haste, there was a variety of stone materials used in their craft ranging from austere grey to warm sandy tan. It made for a diverse casting of neighborhoods, and Rei found herself appreciating the variety.

Sooner than later her stomach began to disagree with her leisurely pace, begging for her to turn her attention toward scoping out some lunch. It wasn't difficult to find the marketplace, what with her heightened sense of smell detecting wafts of cooked meats and other more delicate scents that mingled with one another. Enticed by the scent of freshly grilled fish, she quickly found herself munching on a few skewers as she walked through crowded streets, watching vendors and buyers haggling and conversing freely. Golden eyes carefully took in the sights around her beneath her hood, from the layout of the streets to the citizens that laughed and talked amongst one another without a care.

It was strange to hear so much laughter buzzing in the air. Perhaps the city was far enough from Tual that the echoes of dark tidings and rumors of demons appearing on the horizon had not yet chipped away at their security. Still, it was only a matter of time before laughter became muted, before idyllic hope turned to fear. Shaking her head, Rei chased those thoughts away. She was here for vacation, not to muse in the dark. Keeping herself rooted in the present, she continued to wander the city at her own leisurely pace.

Before she knew it, her feet had snaked their way through the mishmash of streets to lead her to stand along a pier, small private boats tied along the docks and floating gently in the lapping waves that sloshed around. The sun sparkled on the water's surface, dazzling her into a stupor as she looked out at the scene before her.

Silence, save for the sound of the water beneath her feet and the occasional cry of the gulls above. It filled her chest with peace, and for a while she was simply content to be.

A middle aged man who had been tying up his boat had turned to look at her, noticing her presence. For a moment he stared, his face a mask as he turned his attention to Rei. She began preparing herself to leave before he could ask any questions, but he called out to her instead.

"Are yeh a visitor?"

Rei blinked in surprise. "Sorry?"

"Must be, what with that response." He seemed rather good natured even with his scruffy face and somewhat gruff front that he had put up, bracing his hands on his knees as he stood up slowly with a grunt. As he hobbled his way over to Rei, she simply stood with eyes trained on him, deciding what to do. He didn't seem to be like any threat that she could discern. For all she knew, he was simply a friendly citizen. The man didn't seem to realize that she was carefully studying him, for he simply waved at her with a motion to follow him. "C'mon ove' here. Got somethin' y'all like."

For a moment she hesitated, but found that there was no discernable reason to not follow him. He seemed like a good natured fellow, and Rei was good at reading people. She fell into his footsteps, watching his lopsided gait as he tottered along in front of her. It brought a smile to her face. What would he think, if he knew that he were leading a renowned assassin around without realizing it?

Their path continued to follow the water's edge, and before she knew it the two of them were walking in the shadow of the castle. Still the dock continued, now laying flat as they crossed over rocky cliffs whose jagged features would surely tear at any unprepared visitors. Eventually it came to a rounded end, a lookout that was raised ten feet above the water and secured to the cliff. It could have easily fit twenty people or more, but it was barren, save for Rei and her leader.

The man gestured to the platform. "Not alotta people come here now. Don't got the time, I s'ppose. Used to come here with my kids 'till they got too old."

For a moment he simply looked out upon the sea, Rei following his gaze. The lookout provided an unhampered view of not only the bay, but also the cliffs opposite of their position and the ocean far beyond the castle, which loomed high above and behind their heads. The man continued to speak, word pouring from his mouth. "Can't have that king takin' up that entire view. A beauty, ain't she?" He jutted his chin out toward the watery expanse. "The sea. She's made for every'un. It's a right shame not everyone can 'preciate that."

"People are selfish," Rei found herself speaking. "They take what they can, and obsess over what they can't."

He nodded sagely at her words, clasping his hands behind his hunched back. "May'beh yer right. Yeh got a right good head on yer shoulders, stranger." He suddenly threw her a look. "Name's Micah. Yeh got a name of yer own?"

An ironic smiled twisted at her lips. "Zero."

To her surprise and satisfaction Micah said nothing, simply nodding sagely as though it were as typical of a name as one could get and accepting her answer without question. The two of them stood there for a moment longer, content to breathe in their surroundings and the peace for as long as they could. The sound of the waves crashing on the cliffs was much louder now, and every so often the ocean's spray would lift onto the platform and mist Rei's face even from under the hood. After a few minutes the man shrugged his shoulders, turning around to face Rei. His eyes peered up into her hood, but after being unable to discern her face he simply gave up.

"Take it from an old man, but this here place got the best view at sunset. Best that this part of the world has to offer. I ain't a traveled man, but I'd stake my life on that much." Offering a small smile to his mysterious companion, his eyes twinkled. "Maybe someone like you can decide."

This time Rei smiled under her hood, grateful that she had decided to follow this benevolent stranger. "Perhaps I can offer my humble opinion on the matter."

His smile was jaw splitting, the brightest thing she had seen all day. Chuckling, he nodded. "I'm down by the docks every day. Come say hello, ya hear?"

As he began to disappear around the corner, Rei offered a small farewell before turning her attention back to the scene before her. Standing still for another minute, she listened for any other intruders before throwing her hood back, relishing in the way the ocean's spray hit her face fully.

Her messy black hair was already a mess before the ocean's breeze caught hold of it, tousling it around even more. Near the top of her head, a pair of black cat ears finally sprang up, the weight of the heavy hood smashing them against her skull finally lifted as they twitched in anticipation. On her cheekbones near her temple, two white arrows glowed gently on each side of her head. Golden eyes blinked at being exposed fully to the bright afternoon light, pupils sliding into slits.

Walking toward the edge of the pier, she sat down carefully. A slender black tail moved out of the way, curling to the side of her leg and dangling over the pier along with her legs. Swinging her limbs back and forth almost childishly, she breathed a sigh of relief at the freedom of being alone.

Freedom to be her, even in a foreign land. She would cherish it, no matter how small the moment.

She stayed like that until the sun had disappeared over the horizon, until the gold had all but disappeared from the sky and only a crimson splash was left in the heavens. Still the brilliant warm spectrum of colors would be forever engraved in her mind, the way that they were reflected on the choppy surface and beamed back up into the heavens as silky clouds drifted high above her head. Even then she continued to wait for a moment longer before pulling her hood back over her face and standing up. Long after her face dried, she could still feel the way that the ocean mist hit it in a cooling fashion, salt particles clinging to her skin. She was loathe to leave the edge, but she had time. She would be back tomorrow.

Perhaps she was right to choose this city. It was a reminder that there were some things in this world that she had yet to see, and they were worth it.

* * *

_be careful of a woman like me._

_._

_i am true the way rain is true._

_i am pure & vanishing._

_when the thirst of brittle leaves is quenched_

_when the land is a screaming emerald_

_it is clear. i am no longer here._

_._

_i breathed heavy in the bed of my enemy_

_so i could overturn the twist of the sordid fist._

_i oiled the gears of my mind like a pleasing machine._

_you should be careful with a woman like me._

_._

_ \- Brooke Axtell_

_be careful with a woman like me_

* * *

The next day began almost as leisurely as the first. Leisurely in the sense that she still took her time, but today she had a bit more direction. After grabbing another breakfast of grilled fresh fish from the market, she strode down to the pier, half in wonder if she had imagined the man from the day before. Much to her satisfaction he was still there, sitting on the pier and working at mending his nets while whistling an unfamiliar tune that caught the morning air in a happy manner. It took him a few minutes to notice her approach, even as she made sure her footsteps were loud enough to hear. He threw her a grin, motioning for her to come to him.

"And?" He was clearly a man who did not care to hide his emotions, instead throwing them out to the world. It was rather refreshing, in Rei's case, and she found her own lips twitching up into a smile from beneath her hood. "Is it not the most beautiful thing ya've seen?"

"In all my travels, I've never seen a sunset quite like it," Rei agreed amiably. "Truly, it is a wonder of this world."

He guffawed, hands working quickly over his task as his eyebrows furrowed. She could see the satisfaction on his face as clear as day. "'Course it is! I told yeh, did't I?"

"That you did."

He smiled, turning his head to look back up at her. But something in the distance caught his attention, and his face paused in uncertainty for just a moment too long. Frowning, Rei turned her head to follow his line of sight, stiffening at what she saw at the base of the docks.

Royal armed guards. For the past couple days Rei had barely seen them around. Most of them seemed rather amicable with the citizens, and while they were clearly on duty they also were not above mingling with the very people they guarded. But here six of them stood, a seventh without a helmet and clearly of higher rank leading the charge. To his credit he also looked rather friendly, but Rei was wary of their sudden appearance. Smiles could quickly hide a darker secret. Their appearance here couldn't have been a coincidence, not when Rei and Micah were the only ones within sight.

The captain stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Traveler. What is your business here?"

She stepped away from Micah, taking a few steps forward toward the guards but keeping enough distance so as to not unnerve them too much. She could feel the strange look that the older man behind her was throwing at her back, but she dared not return the look. "Simply passing through on a vacation. I assure you," she gestured with her hands in a placating manner, "I do not seek trouble."

"That is indeed good to hear, although you misunderstand us." The captain lifted his head, narrowing his eyes momentarily in scrutiny, as though a simple look could discern if she was telling the truth while her face was still obscured. "Word has reached our ears that a certain… individual," he conceded, keeping his words intentionally vague, "has taken up temporary residence in our city. I seek to confirm that this appearance is true, and not a regular breeze or _wind_ passing through."

Rei's eyes narrowed at his emphasis on the word wind. No matter how neutral he tried to keep his words, it was clear that he was looking for her. Perhaps she had underestimated how ellusive the Black Whirlwind truly was. After all, rumors could be picked up with a stir of a breeze, and even the strongest tempests began in mild tempers. She had been found, and surprisingly fast. The only trick now was to see what the intention was behind these men in front of her.

"That depends," she slowly began, "on who is asking, and for what purpose."

The captain smiled. It was neither menacing nor a look that Micah wore freely on his face, rather something lingering in between. It was more political than anything, diplomatic and controlled to a tee, and it filled Rei's gut with unease. "The King is in need of such a person's services. If you are who you say you are, then you will be rewarded properly and accordingly."

Turning back to look at Micah, she could see the confusion in his face, the wonder at the strangeness of the conversation and of the individual that stood in front of him like some guardian angel or protector. With a sigh, she turned back to the captain. "I am who you seek. I will listen to your King's request."

"First," the captain demanded, "can you prove your identity?"

Rei glowered from beneath her hood. It was no secret that everyone around her was curious to know what she looked like underneath the cowl. But that would not help him. Instead she reached beneath her coat, unsheathing her sword in one fluid motion. The rapier glistened in the light, its cobalt surface sparkling and almost seeming to emit a light of its own. The men both stiffened and marveled at its appearance, whispers breaking out. Rei could sense Micah's astonishment and awe, and she turned to look at him. "I am sorry for deceiving you." He had no response, mouth open like a fish. Instead Rei turned back to the captain. "This _will_ suffice."

Her tone assured everyone that it was not up for debate; they would have to take her without seeing her face. If anything the sword had spoken louder than words, the tentative rumors now proving true. The captain realized this, and simply nodded while swallowing hard. "Then we will go now, if you will."

Boots softly padding on the wooden docks, Rei refused to look back. For some reason she felt guilty that she had not told Micah about her identity, an emotion that confused her. What did she have to feel guilty about? Perhaps it was because she knew of the nightmares her name evoked, even in the common folk and the few upstanding people in this world. She did not want to frighten Micah; in fact, a part of her was rather fond of the older man with his ungainly limp and rough manner of speech. But wasn't that who she was? The living nightmare, manifested from the darkest shadows? Perplexed at her own mental state, she simply settled for stewing in her thoughts as she followed the captain, the six armored guards forming a protective unit around her as they began to make their way through the city.

For some reason, she felt more like a prisoner, her free will and choice slipping through her fingertips in an instant. Dread filled her gut.

Who knew what this turn would bring?

They moved at a bright clip through the city, drawing the attention of many civilians as they stared after the procession. Fortunately no one spoke, and her rapier was safely tucked under her cloak. To the innocent bystander, it was simply a strange procession of guards securing a mysteriously cloaked stranger, something that incited curiosity but nothing else. Rei watched as they began to make their way through larger city streets, the crowds growing and staring with wondering eyes, trying to discern what sort of person was so important to warrant a six man escort.

If only they knew.

The moment that they passed through the main gates to the castle, the hum of the crowd began to fade. Gone were the peasants and the beautiful chaos of the main city. The castle was intimidatingly quiet, an oppressive silence that spoke volumes of the tone and precedent that had been set. Though Rei was a quiet person and knew how to sneak around even more silent spaces than this, even she felt unwelcome and bulky as she bumbled through the corridors, kept in place by her contingent.

It was a kind of darkness that she had never experienced before. It was unlike the beautiful darkness of night guided by the moon in the midnight sky, the kind that brought a cool reverence and peace to one's mind when one could not find sleep. Neither was it akin to the darkness that had overtaken her homeland, the one that ravaged the land of Tual, led by dark demonic forces. Perhaps it was somewhat closer to the despair found in nightmares, in the dark that covered one's senses and made them feel lost in the world.

Despair. It finally came into her mind, appearing out of nowhere. That was a word that she could use. Not even all of the grandeur of the castle and their looming, magnificent tapestries could rid themselves of the stench of angst and wistful memories of times long past. There was a coldness in this place that could not be scrubbed from one's bones, no matter how long they sat in front of the fire. Rei was no stranger to darkness, but she wondered how one could live in such a place as this.

Who lived here, aside from the king? Rei couldn't imagine that very happy people could tolerate this space. It only made her hair stand on end in anticipation of what she would find when the met the king himself.

She didn't have to wait long. Eventually their trek through the long, snaking corridors came to an end as they approached a pair of massive doors that loomed over Rei's head. A herald announced their approach from the inside, voice muffled but picked up by Rei's alert ears, and the doors swung open all too quickly for her to process before their group was swiftly marching down the center of the throne room.

Stately. Ornate. And yet, with all these grandiose decorations, it still felt empty. Hollow and devoid of something Rei couldn't quite place. But her gaze couldn't look around for much longer as they drew closer to the throne and the figure sitting upon it.

Rei had heard rumors about King Endeavor. He ruled with an iron fist, an indomitable will, and with the flames of victory on his side, often quite literally, he had established a monarchy that would surely live on in memories through the ages. At one point his love for his people was unparalleled, but something had happened over the years. There were few answers, only speculation. It was why Rei had avoided his kingdom for so long, not wanting to get caught up in the affairs of such an entangled and complicated realm. Work was plentiful in other areas, so why get involved with such a tense atmosphere?

If she had wondered about what the king looked like, she wasn't far from reality. He was a large, muscular man, whose frame alone was intimidating enough. There seemed to be a permanent scowl engraved into his face, displeasure radiating all the way from across the room. Brilliant red hair was underscored by sharp cerulean eyes that had immediately latched onto Rei's figure, suspicion clashing with vague interest as he attempted to discern exactly who she was. It was after a few moments that Rei realized that the cold atmosphere of the castle radiated from one place and one place alone.

What a king, that would allow his domain to become the loneliest on earth!

But she wisely kept her lips shut, following the lead of the guard and bowing along with them as a sign of respect. She was often considered brash and temperamental by her people, but she at least knew when and how to curb her desire for rebellion. Now was not the time, not when the man sitting in front of her could decide to hold her life in his hands and wring her out to dry. King Endeavor was not a man to be trifled with. She already felt as though she was impeding on his time, and that he was ready to cast her aside at a moment's notice. No matter what the captain had told her to get her to come with him, Rei was almost certain that the king's decision could change in an instant.

So engrossed in her thoughts, she missed the fact that the captain had spoken with the king and that the guards moved to the sides of the room. It was only when cerulean eyes turned on her figure, completely focused upon her, that she snapped out of her reverie and embarrassingly brought her attention back to the fore. The king was leaning to the side, cheek propped up on his fist in a disinterested manner as he stared down at her. Thankfully, no one had yet spoken, a weighty silence pressing down on everyone.

Then, the king spoke. "Remove your hood."

Rei stiffened. "Pardon, your highness," she spoke quietly and in a lowly tone, "but I keep my identity hidden for a reason. My face-"

"Do you not realize," he thundered above her, cutting her off mid sentence, "that I can have you thrown in the deepest dungeons for the rest of your life?"

It was a warning enough. Rei sighed, taking a moment before slowly removing the hood from her face, golden eyes coming to light. She saw the captain stiffen at the king's side, but her eyes were trained on the monarch. Much to her interest, she only saw a flicker of mild interest before it was obscured by boredom.

"I assume my captain here informed you of why I have sought you out?"

She was surprised that he made no remarks on her race or her appearance, but she let it slide. Eyes flickering to the side, Rei contemplated her answer. "Only the most general of ideas, your grace."

At least her answer this time seemed to appease him. Satisfied, he sat up straight, hands and arms resting on the sides of the throne. "Good. Then let me enlighten you. My son," he grimaced at this, "has gone missing. I need you to bring him back to me. Alive."

Rei blinked slowly, twice. A missing prince? "May I ask some questions?" The only response she received was a wave of a hand, which she took as confirmation before pressing forward. "Is there foul play suspected?"

"None so far." This time the captain spoke, stepping forward from the shadow that was cast by the throne. "A report came from one of our guards who was stationed at the kuzumochi grove across the bay. Three strangers were eating from the tree. Before he could do anything, the prince had arrived and dismissed him, stating that he would take care of matters."

"And that was all?"

The captain nodded solemnly. "That was the last we heard of him."

"These strangers, were they capable of taking him by force?"

"My son is more than capable of fending off three peasants on the borders," Endeavor cut in, his voice booming almost too loudly in the space. Rei winced as the sound echoed off the stone chamber, but maintained her composure. It seemed as though the king grew irritated with her question, Rei tucking away that piece of information for later. A prince and a son, but she had the distinct feeling that those two identities weren't always cohesive. If the prince had run away, she didn't blame him, but it did make her more curious as to what the boy was like.

So instead Rei simply nodded at the king's statement. "Then it is assumed that he is alive."

"That is your job to find out. I grow tired of useless questions and statements." Impertinent and impatient, the king took the reins of the conversation once more. "You will be properly rewarded upon the successful completion of your mission, so much so that the Black Whirlwind may choose to vanish from the realm of men. I do not care about the details, simply that you bring him back."

Rei lifted an eyebrow, but refrained from further questions. It was unlike her buyers to not impose a deadline, especially if such an exorbitant reward was on the line. After all, she was known for delivering even in the most tight of time frames. The mission was growing stranger and stranger by the minute, but now was not the time to unpack everything. Instead she bowed at the waist, dipping her head. "Consider it done."

"Good." With a flick of the wrist he dismissed her, two of the guard stepping forward to escort her away. Taking one last look at the king, she followed them out of the throne room and into the hallway.

Was dealing with royalty always this quick? Or was it simply because King Endeavor had zero tolerance for small talk and small fry?

Before the doors had even opened, Rei had slid her hood back on, ears flattening under the weight of the hood. Consumed in mystery once more, she looked to the guards as they escorted her out.

"The prince," she began to one of them, earning a toss of a head in her direction with curiosity. "What does he look like?"

"Much like his father, my lady," one of them began rather politely, "but half like his mother. Quite literally, I must say."

Raising an eyebrow, she crossed her arms under her cloak, the movement hidden from everyone else. "I am no lady," she mused half to herself, "but thank you. What do you mean, by 'literally?'"

This time the other guard spoke, similarly cordial and polite as his compatriot. "Half of his head is the red hair of his father and cerulean eyes. The other half with hair as white as snow, and brown eyes."

"And a scar on the left side of his face, though we suggest avoiding mentioning it. It's a delicate topic."

Half and half of a head, with a nasty scar. Just what kind of boy was this prince? And where was he now? Rei wanted to pull at her ears with the details that were unfolding; she hadn't been able to get the best read on what the captain and the king had believed to be true. Had the prince been kidnapped? The king didn't seem to think so. Yet why would he leave so suddenly, on such a whim? And was he even with those three that the other guard had mentioned?

She had the feeling that she would begin finding answers as soon as she got on the road and began tracking the trail. But simply thinking about that had her gut stirring. Hadn't she come here to find some peace and quiet for a while? All she had found was a city with the most beautiful sunset and a king who seemed intent on ruining her day. Rubbish, all of it. A scowl had made its way to her face as she contemplated the details she had received.

The first guard continued on. "If we might suggest, the kuzumochi grove is quite literally on the other side of the bay. There are usually guards patrolling that area. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them as well, although they might not know much more than us here."

They had come back to the gates of the palace, and Rei had never felt more ready to leave a location in her entire life. She never wanted to return to the castle, what with its desolate and lonely corridors and an unshakable sense of grief. Deep within her, she found the smallest piece of sympathy for the prince she was meant to find. Opening the gate for her, the two guards motioned for her to leave, spitting her back into the central plaza. Fortunately, most people did not seem to notice or care about the mysterious hooded figure now that she was unaccompanied, although some did stare. Rei shrugged them away, looking one final time at the guards.

"The prince," she started, "what is his name?"

"Todoroki Shouto."

Rei wanted to snort. A fitting name for royalty. But she stifled herself and instead bowed. "My thanks."

"Please bring him back to us. The king has been rather out of sorts lately. More than usual. We fear he will only grow worse."

Was that even possible? Rei thought he was bad enough. But she nodded her head before parting from the guards, making her way through the square and down the streets. There was enough for her to process, to think about on her way back.

But now she was on the move again. A bit of her heart tightened at the thought. At least this time she wouldn't have to kill anyone. Or so she hoped so far. Who knew what the future would bring?

* * *

_Look at this stanza. In the orange sun_

_She is combing the dust from her double wings._

_._

_As you finish this sentence to the end, she hurries away,_

_Head lowered, the practiced wires of her body_

_Disappearing with the alacrity of the very small,_

_Over the edge of the broad evening dune._

_._

_\- Pattiann Rogers_

_The Literary Adventure_

* * *

She had been on the road for weeks now, the fiery sunset reflected on the waves a distant memory now that she was surrounded by the familiar forest of green. If she closed her eyes she could conjure the memory of salt air as it accosted her nose, the tender spray of the waves breaking on rock caressing her face. But with every inhale only came the familiar scent of tender greens, of warm dirt and rotting boughs, of cold shade of the towering pines that loomed above her head in a comforting manner. Familiar, yet foreign after the things she had seen.

She would go back some day. Of course she would have to, after her mission was completed and she delivered the prince back safely. But she wanted to linger under the towering stone walls along that pier once again, to drown herself in the sounds of the ocean. She wanted to forget everything, to be at peace once again and feel nothing but the setting sun on her body.

That was now a memory, tucked safely away in the corner of her mind. It was time to get back to work.

The shift had occurred instantaneously. As soon as she had returned to the tavern room that she had purchased, as soon as her fingers touched the familiar hilts of her twin kukris, as soon as her body was laden with weapons that would make a warrior weep, her mind had shifted. The assassin within her had awakened. She had a job to do. Gone was the easygoing attitude that she could don as she walked through the streets of the city. Her mind had shifted in a heartbeat, returning to suspicion, clarity, and cold instinct. In the world she was on her own, with no one to watch her back. There had been a time where that had not been the case, but it was the reality now. Her hand twitched at her side as she walked along the road, eyes scanning everything around her.

Alone. The rogue assassin. It was the role she embraced, that she had made her own. She was the Black Whirlwind, and she would carry out her role accordingly, no matter who stood in her way.

The initial work had been difficult in order to get herself going. By the time she had reached the aforementioned kuzumochi grove that the guards had mentioned, the sun was beginning its descent through sky. The guards stationed at the point had been less than welcoming to the latest stranger that inspired nothing but suspicion with how their face was completely obscured, but after she stated that she was on a mission to find the prince they had at least relaxed a touch. They had shown her the tree with trepidation, but other than that they had no new information to give. Rei had been close to clocking someone over the head with the hilt of her rapier from sheer annoyance and a lack of details when her luck turned up, just before the sun had set. A bit of a ways away from the grove, she had found a trail of hooves. Upon confirming that the prince had a horse, she had rejoiced at her final stroke of luck, sending a prayer to the gods above that it would be a successful lead.

The first week had been the most difficult. The tracks were starting to wear from the earth, since it had been over a week since people had trod in this area. In some places the hooves were clear, along with three other sets of footprints joined by a fourth at campsites, the areas open and definitely showing signs of settlement. On other days when she was less lucky, the trail would become lost and she would wander the forest for days on end trying to pick up a lead. She had been close to ripping her own tail off of her body in frustration, but somehow, some way, she would eventually pick up the trail and be off on her way once more.

Now that she was gaining traction, the trail was becoming more and more clear. Week old prints turned into a couple days. By her estimation she was about two days or so behind the group, putting her both into high spirits while also setting off conflicting emotions. How was she going to convince the prince to come back?

Rei had convinced herself that the prince had left willingly. She hadn't dared say that to anyone out loud, especially around the king, but she had felt a twist in her gut from the start. It didn't sound as though he had anything tying him to his home, save for a nice title and the promise of an even nicer one upon his father's passing. The only thing she hadn't been able to figure out yet was the reason why he continued pressing on with the group. Companionship? That couldn't have been it, or at least it couldn't be the sole reason. Perhaps the group had something enticing. But what could be enticing to a prince who seemingly had everything?

It was a problem that only seemed to grow bigger and bigger with each step she took, even as she physically drew closer to the source. She was conflicted at heart, no matter how much she denied it at face value. She needed the money. She wasn't so dishonorable that she would forget about her mission because she didn't want to take it. Yet how was she to resolve these things that were most likely beyond her? Sometimes, killing people was a lot easier. No talking, no convincing, no arguing, no persuasion. Get in, get out, get paid, move on. Unfortunately, that was not the case here.

By the third week of following the trail she was within a day's travel of her intended targets, and no closer to finding any solutions. But a new drawback had settled upon her travels, something that sent shivers down her spine.

One day she had emerged from the forest line to find herself on the border of the volcanic region.

Rei like to think that she was many things, but a fool was not one of them. She had only ventured through the volcanic region three times, all in order to hunt her assignments after they had fled into the most desolate area in hopes of losing her. Growing up in the safety of the forest, she knew how to hide in the shadows of trees, to muffle her footsteps even across a path of dried autumn leaves. She knew how to scale even the most slender boughs, how to use her surroundings to her advantage. In the volcanic region there was none of that, save for rock, ash, and arid temperatures that slowly became increasingly unbearable.

In addition, there had been rumors of a new inhabitant settling the area. A lord of sorts, riding a crimson dragon. One of those things, Rei was certain she could handle. And it wasn't the dragon. But dragons themselves were temperamental creatures that were seemingly untameable, and the rumors of someone who had managed to force a dragon to succumb to his will had Rei instinctively wanting to turn around and head in the opposite direction. What kind of monster was capable of that, in addition to living in one of the most unforgiving landscapes the world had to offer?

Rei didn't want to find out. She was half tempted to set up camp under the boughs and contemplate an alternative plan. But deep down, she knew that this was her only shot. She had fought this hard to come all this way and to catch up to her mission. It would be a completely waste and disgrace for her to stop now.

With a loud groan and a stamp of her foot, Rei pushed onward. A fool indeed. But her pride wouldn't allow her to stop and forgo her mission. What would happen if the prince was injured in this place? Precious cargo indeed. It was what kept her putting one foot in front of the other, no matter how much she wanted to turn back.

After another five days, her targets came within sight. She had breathed a sigh of relief, but all too soon. Successes always came with downfalls.

The dragon lord appeared.

She watched from a distance as the lord himself and a small squire looking boy had dueled, with the fight going in the lord's favor. He was a strong looking man that looked rather animalistic from his face and persona all the way down to the way he dressed. A fierce fighter all around, Rei found it in herself to feel sorry for the green haired boy that had been chosen to be his opponent, though he did hold his ground for a while. The only fortunate thing was that Rei was able to pick out the prince from the group, but from what she could discern, he was indeed with them willingly.

Her shoulders slumped even as she continued to watch with interest. To her surprise, the dragon lord seemed keen on joining their group after a short discussion, which Rei was unfortunately unable to hear. Even with heightened hearing the distance proved to be too great, and she had to settle for her keen vision. With the dragon prince (and his dragon) joining the group, this would only complicate matters further. How was she to complete her mission now?

For the next few days she continued to follow the group, keeping considerable distance especially now that they had a dragon on their side. It was a difficult task, considering that she was navigating terrain upon which she was uncomfortable in addition to trying to remain incognito as much as she could in this barren landscape.

It was only a matter of time before she was found.

From the moment that the dragon lord and his steed launched into the air one late afternoon, Rei knew that her luck had finally run dry as the sinking feeling in her gut made her stomach fall to the ground. For most of the journey thus far she had been able to hide under outcroppings of rock and molten stone, concealing her location whenever the two of them took a joyride into the skies. But in the next stretch there was nothing but flat land and hollow shells of wiry trees that had their bases covered by a sludge of lava that was now hard and unforgiving. She had been faced with two choices; to remain behind to maintain her cover and risk losing the trail once more, or to skulk close and risk being found by the scouts of the sky. Exhausted as she was of having to find cold trails, she had opted for the later.

As the red giant snaked its way into the sky, Rei began steeling herself. There was no point in running; the creature could outpace her any day, no matter how swift she was. Beneath her coat she placed her hands on the hilts of her kukris, arms crossed over her torso as she simply waited, biding her time. _Let them come_. She was good at hiding, but the thrill of battle was beginning to surge in her ears as her heart beat wildly, anticipating the fight. Both terrified and thrilled, even she couldn't figure out if the look on her face was a grimace or a grin.

She knew that she had been spotted when the dragon suddenly dove in her direction, a roar unleashed from its mighty throat as it dive bombed for her position. But her eyes tracked it carefully, noting how its body twisted in order to land near her, not on top of her. A strange decision, but one that Rei took in with stride as she readjusted the grip on her kukris. Golden eyes watched as the dragon lord leapt from his steed's back, slowly striding over toward her in confidence. His demeanor oozed of superiority, teeth bared in a feral half smile. She could feel his deadly intent, his fierce aura.

If anything, it made her even more excited.

He finally came to a stop when there was a little over fifty feet between them, enough for them to watch for their opponent's next move. The two of the sized one another up in silence, Rei taking in glittering crimson eyes for the first time. Red, like blood. _Beautiful._ He laughed, as though he had heard her internal thought, crossing his arms.

"Who are you, scum? Here to challenge the dragon lord himself?"

Clearly cocky, his brash and bold attitude was enough to earn a smile from Rei. Finally, a challenge. It boosted her confidence, borderline arrogant as she lifted her chin up defiantly. "My mission is my own. I apologize if not everything is about you."

Her saucy reply was enough to ignite his temper further, as he glowered at her. "Hah? Who do you think you are? You think you're hot shit?"

"I have no name."

"That's rich," he scoffed, rolling his eyes at her. "Though it doesn't matter once I defeat you, huh?"

"I'd like to see you try."

He needed no more enticement, leaping forward with a battle cry as he brandished his own sword. Rei had mere seconds to bring up her defense, whipping out her own swords as she pushed back, deflecting his onslaught. To his credit he didn't even seem phased, instead looking rather pleased that she was putting up a fight. Renewing his attack he pushed onward in a flurry of blows, Rei was forced to keep on her toes as she carefully watched every jab, parrying at the right moments.

It wasn't to say that she was completely overwhelmed, as in some moments she caught him off guard, particularly when she used her flexibility and mobility to her advantage. In one particular moment he had swiped at her head, swinging full force. Unable to bring her sword up in time, she had bent over backwards and rolled away, sweeping his legs from under him. Her movement had only riled him further, his maniac grin slipping for a moment in concentration as he bared his teeth in a feral manner. Rei had only stood up again, preparing for the next onslaught.

To her surprise, they were better matched than she had expected. If she were honest, she had expected him to use brute force in order to overwhelm his opponents, but his moves were calculated and precise, keeping Rei on her toes. His fight style was intelligent, yet furious. It was exhilarating, to finally be able to fight someone who fought back properly. Enthralled in their glorious battle Rei pushed onward, getting more and more into their fight.

"Bakugou!"

"Kacchan!"

The voice of one of the other party members broke through, much to the dragon lord's anger. "Shut up, damn Deku! This is my fight!"

Taking advantage of the distraction, Rei looked over to the group. It was clear that the boy that had cried out was the green haired boy from before. He was leading the charge, though the dragon was now holding him back and out of the fight along with the others. She didn't have time to look for long, as her opponent moved to slash at her cheek, taking advantage of her momentary distraction.

"Oi! Focus on fighting me, idiot!"

Rei snorted, twirling her kukris in her hands. "With pleasure."

The fight continued on for what seemed like forever. The minutes dragged on. Eventually Rei began to tire and slow, as did her opponent, but neither wanted to give up, both too stubborn to acknowledge their exhaustion and pushing onward. But there was only so far that Rei could push.

It was after one particular attack where she had lunged at his chest that he had ducked under her arm, sweeping her legs out from underneath her. Instinct took over, and although she hit the ground hard with her breath leaving her lungs she rolled to her side in order to move out of the way. But she was slower than before, and her opponent blocked her movement. In an instant he had pinned her down on her back, one foot on her wrist and a hand on the other, sword hovering in the air. Much to Rei's surprise he tossed the sword aside without much regard for the object, a feral look still on his face even through his exhaustion that he was trying to hide.

"Let's see who you are, 'no name.'"

The fight was over. Rei didn't bother to push him away as he grabbed the fabric of the front of her cloak in one hand, bringing his other hand up to move the stubborn hood from her face once and for all. Instead she lay there in her exhaustion, doing her best to sneer back up at him once the fabric fell away. Much to her surprise, his face morphed from confident victory to surprise in an instant, red eyes wide as he stared down at her face.

It was clear the others didn't know what to think either. In the silence that ensued, Rei could hear the green haired boy from before as his voice burst out from the side of the battlefield.

"A Miqo'te?"

* * *

_What is it rippling across the deck?_

_What rising? What memory of ocean?_

_What is it ripples and rises?_

_The drowned heart, lifted a moment_

_answers clearly. Here it comes._

_._

_\- Muriel Rukeyser_

_Adventure at Midnight_

* * *

An hour later, Rei found herself sitting down at a campfire with the odd squad that she had been tracking down for weeks. Strange, to be sitting in the company of her prey, and for the first time to be completely at their mercy, not the other way around. But dinner had been served to everyone, a soup that had been cooked and seemingly appeared out of nowhere after Rei had turned her back. Suspicion still lingered at Rei's appearance, but she didn't let the nerves and strain over the campfire dissuade her, since she was still wary at their willingness to let her move around unbound. Part of their suspicion was most likely due to the fact that her hood was now down in the company of these strangers, and their eyes were constantly moving from her golden eyes to her ears, down to her facial tattoos that glowed gently in the night, and back to her ears again. She had experienced worse looks. She could handle a few curious travelers.

Eventually the witch looked as though she couldn't handle the tense atmosphere any longer, like a balloon about to burst from the pressure. "Um, my name is Uraraka! What are you doing wandering the wastelands?"

Rei blinked slowly, taking the girl in. She had a round face, and seemed rather… innocent. Naive wasn't necessarily the right word, but she was good. Rei could feel the honesty radiating off of her, the most truthful and open out of everyone else in the group. Setting her spoon down in her bowl, Rei considered her question. Should she lie? As her gaze shifted around the group, her eyes landed on a familiar head of red and white hair. Red like his father, white like his mother, the half and half prince…

Looking away at the ground for a moment, she gathered her wits about her, steeling herself for what was about to come. She was never great at lying anyway. "I've been hired to bring the young prince back home."

Todoroki stiffened, pausing in eating his food. The rest of the group did the same, slowing at her honest and unexpected words. Rei only blinked a couple more times before resuming eating her meal, blowing on the hot liquid before sipping it carefully.

It was the green haired boy who shook his head, as though trying to clear it, thinking that he heard wrong. "Wait, what do you mean? You've been hired, as though someone…"

The prince's eyes narrowed. "My father." He turned his austere and cold gaze upon Rei. It was in that instant that she recognized the similarities, no matter how much the prince claimed to be different than his father. "You're on a fool's errand if you think I'll go home now."

To her credit, Rei merely shrugged. "Job's a job. I go wherever I get paid."

"And now you're here?"

Rolling her eyes, she gave the prince a half hearted glare. "To be honest, you lot were difficult to track down. The trails had nearly gone cold by the time I got there."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Depends." Jabbing her spoon in the direction of the prince, she raised an eyebrow. "All depends on what you do next."

"Me?" He looked rather surprised at that, but he quickly schooled his face into something serious. "I'm staying with them." He nodded to the trio to his side, the ones that had initially met him back in his kingdom. "And I'm not going home until we're finished."

Rei only shrugged, as though disappointed by his answer. "And what is this task that's so important that you jump at the slightest opportunity to leave your kingdom and responsibility behind?"

He flinched at her attack, but turned his eyes to the green haired boy. He looked rather nervous as Rei turned her sharp, golden eyes onto him, jolting to a start before stammering out a response. "A-ah, well, we're investigating the reason why a bunch of heroes like All Might have gone missing, and why the darkness and demons are coming back."

At this Rei looked up, attention ensnared. The boy seemed to shrink under her close scrutiny for a moment before she relaxed. "And your name?"

"M-Midoriya!"

The knight to his side raised a hand in greeting. "I am Iida Tenya, a knight of the Iida clan! I have been sent on a mission to discover why-"

"What does it matter?!" Bakugou, as Rei had learned his name, interrupted the incredibly formal yet loud introduction of the last member of the party. All eyes on the prince himself, he snarled ferally. "We find who's taking them, and I get to beat him up! The strongest against me!"

Rolling her eyes, Rei snorted as she began to gather up another spoonful of soup. "Good to know that that part's taken care of."

"Um, Zero, was it?" Golden eyes turned back to Midoriya, who jumped and squeaked at receiving her attention again. It was the name she had given them, keeping her true name a secret still. At least if they saw her face, they wouldn't know her true name and accidentally or intentionally give it away. She patiently blinked, waiting for him to continue. It took a moment for his brain to function again, realizing that she was waiting on him. He stuttered, clearly embarrassed. "I mean, well, not to intrude, but I was wondering, um…" His hands played with one another, fidgeting under the pressure. "You're a Miqo'te, right? Aren't you far from home?"

Home. Just the word itself sent waves of longing through Rei's small frame. Her shoulders slumped ever so slightly, but it was clear that the others sensed her unease. To their credit, they patiently waited for her to explain.

Still hunched forward, she rested her forearms on her legs, staring into the fire that burned away happily in the landscape. "Funny, that you mention the darkness. No one believed me, back then. That you are willingly investigating…" Trailing off, she slowly shook her head.

"My tribe lived deep within the mountains of Tual. We were happy. But one day, the demons came and murdered everyone."

"Murdered…" Uraraka's eyes met Rei as she lifted her head for a moment before shaking it again, lowering her gaze.

"My sister was able to distract them while I ran away. I never found out what happened to her."

"What about your guardian spirit?" Midoriya piped up. "Surely you could have them communicate with…" He trailed off, seeing Rei's face darken even further.

"Haru. That was my guardian spirit. She was killed trying to protect me." When she looked up at the group again, her face was haunted, worn from the years of wandering, from living with what had happened. "The first village I came to, I tried to tell them. No one believed me. The Miqo'te never really interacted with anyone. They couldn't even believe that I existed, let alone an entire colony."

"So, you've been alone, this entire time."

Rei nodded. "I went back once, to my village. It was razed to the ground. No survivors. At least, there was no way to identify anyone."

A quiet hush fell over the group. Even Bakugou fell quiet, although there was some emotion bubbling underneath his visage. Midoriya bowed his head. "I'm sorry. For bringing such sad thoughts up."

Shrugging her shoulders, Rei stood up and walked toward the campfire, pouring herself another bowl of soup before returning to her seat and stirring the concoction. For food on the road, it was rather filling, much to her surprise. "It's been years," she said, dismissing Midoriya's apology with a wave of her hand. "I've had much time to reconcile."

"So, what have you been doing since then?" Uraraka shifted the conversation, clearly trying to steer them away from dark and sad topics. "I mean, Miqo'te aren't really known in these parts, or any parts…"

"Yes! I had thought that the Miqo'te were simply legends, as my family had told stories when I was a child!"

Rei raised an eyebrow at Iida's strange and abrupt statement, but she nodded her head. "True. We never used to interact with anyone aside from our clans."

"So, what have you been doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Bakugou could no longer keep silent, barking at the rest of the group. They appeared startled, although Rei and Todoroki kept their composure, never really bothered by anything at this point. Red eyes blazed in anger, but only at his traveling companions' inability to put two and two together. Pointing a finger at Rei, he grinned. "She's a mercenary. Why else would she be following prince kid over here through the wasteland?"

Todoroki muttered something under his breath about Bakugou's crude name calling, but Rei sat up with interest. "Very good," she purred. "At least someone's paying attention."

"That brings us back to my question." The prince looked back at Rei, a look of severity across his face. Even though he was attempting to be intimidating, Rei simply matched his gaze in fierceness, refusing to back down. "What will you do now, that I won't go back to my father?"

"To your fortune, highness," she said with a slight hint of mockery, "I was not given a time frame. Whether or not you decide to go back in a day or a year does not matter to me. If the price is right, I'll forget the whole incident as well."

A frown crossed his face. "My purse was left back at home. I didn't carry it with me when I left."

"Then to that end, we can simply postpone such talks. In the meantime," golden eyes glinted in the fire as she turned her attention back to the whole group, "let me come along with your group. If you are searching for the source of darkness, I would like answers as well."

To her surprise, the group seemed to brighten at her offer. "Of course!" Midoriya was the apparent leader, smiling brilliantly at Rei. "We could always use more help!"

"And Zero is a good fighter!" Uraraka cheered.

Bakugou scoffed, tossing his head to the side and rolling his eyes. "Hah! Not as good as me."

Sipping another spoonful of soup, Rei grinned from over the rim of the bowl. Her eyes glittered playfully in the dim light, joy coming back to her for the first time in a while. A worthy opponent had finally emerged. Even in her defeat, she was confident that she could best him soon. "We'll see about that."

"Huh? You wanna go again?"

"So eager to lose?"

"Oi! Watch your mouth, brat!"

So dysfunctional, but still the group somehow made it work. Looking at their seemingly ragtag team, Rei couldn't help but feel a warmth in her chest as the group began bickering away, Iida yelling something about courtesy toward a woman while Bakugou picked away at the rich young knight. As the fire burned in brilliant reds and oranges, she couldn't help but feel at peace for the first time in weeks, something she hadn't felt since she witnessed that grand sunset in the city that dwelled on the water's edge.

Familiarity, comfort. Longing. But they could only last for so long as their group began to delve into the secrets of the dark.

* * *

_And both that morning equally lay_

_In leaves no step had trodden black._

_Oh, I kept the first for another day!_

_Yet knowing how way leads on to way,_

_I doubted if I should ever come back._

_._

_\- Robert Frost_

_The Road Not Taken_

* * *

Traveling with their odd group came with surprises each day. Rei quickly learned that Uraraka had been a mage hired by Iida's family to accompany him on his voyage across the lands, her family being trained in the magical arts for years. However, the key to her powers was in food; if the mage went unfed, her powers were essentially equal to zero, barely able to produce even a small puff of flames to light their campfires. Still, the bubbly girl remained undeterred even in the most abysmal circumstances, a constant ray of sunshine that cheered her companions on and provided a source of constant conversation if one listened in.

Iida was the youngest of his family, a knight still seeking acclaim. His eldest brother was highly successful, but too busy to make time for such a quest as this, no matter the importance. His duty was to the people he protected on a daily basis, leaving the younger eager to prove himself. To Rei's distaste, he was rather loud and ungainly in some aspects, showing his greenness all to often. Yet he was intelligent in his own right, and noble.

But if it came down to booksmarts, there was none brighter than Midoriya. His knowledge of the Miqo'te came to Rei's surprise, and once he got beyond his stuttering shyness he continued to ask all sorts of questions of Rei's people. She always responded in a good natured manner, unwilling to say no to the second ray of sunshine of their group. He as well was green, but upright and with a strong heart. Of all the people in their group, Rei considered Midoriya to be the most intelligent conversationalist and the most enjoyable.

With every passing day, Rei came to understand more about the young prince she had been tasked with finding and returning home. Most things that she had guessed about him were proven right; he detested his father, and sought to prove himself in his own way. On the other side, she never would have guessed that he was so curious about the world; this had been proven on the fifth night of their travels, when he finally asked if he could touch Rei's ears. His question had caught her off guard for a moment, but after recovering she had let him feel her tail as a compromise. She hated it when people touched her hair or her ears, but she neither did she have it in her to completely deny and shoot down the gentle prince's request. It was one of the ways in which he had proved he was not his father, with a gentle curiosity and genuine soft side that sometimes peeked out from his composed exterior.

Then there was their token hot head, bristling with more anger than his body could contain (or that Rei imagined could even exist in the entire region). But Rei found that she enjoyed Bakugou's little tantrums, often indulging herself in goading him on in order to see how fired up he could get. The rest of their group seemed horrified that Rei was so willing to bicker on and on with him and risk receiving his full wrath, but it never seemed to happen fully. It was fun, Rei found, to have someone match her more witty and dryly sarcastic side, a verbal sparring partner that livened up her days.

But the biggest surprise had yet to come.

It had taken them nearly another week to come to the edge of the forest where the volcanic region finally ended, sputtering out its black and crusted rolls and halting a hundred feet from the forest line. Rei had to resist running into the forest and climbing up the first tree she found, letting her hand twitch at her sides in anticipation as she remained with the rest of the group. Home, or as close as she could get at this point. Under the protection of the forest she had grown, and she would always long to return to it, no matter how far she traveled.

Suddenly, as though the whole group was struck by a thought simultaneously, they turned to Bakugou and the giant red creature that had been following them this entire time.

"Um, how is your dragon going to follow us?"

Uraraka perked up at Midoriya's statement, nodding her head furiously. "Right! He can't fit in the trees with us. He's too big!"

The only response she received was an eye roll from Bakugou, who glared up at the hulking creature. "Oi, make yourself useful, won't you?" He stalked into the forest, leaving the rest of the group to glance between him and the dragon curiously.

Standing at the back of the group, Rei circled around to stand in front of the dragon, looking up into its face with curiosity. Peering up with golden eyes, she blinked a few times before speaking quietly. "Are you… a shapeshifter?"

To her surprise, the dragon seemed to bark out a laugh. Suddenly its form began to rapidly shrink, dropping to the ground faster and faster until a single, man-like figure was left. With brilliantly red, spiky hair that was reminiscent of flames and jagged ridges of a cliffline, Rei found herself staring up blankly at a face that grinned back down at her.

"Nope! I'm just half-dragon, half-human!" He reached over and grabbed Rei's hands, holding it between their bodies as he shook them vigoriously. "I'm Kirishima! Say, you're really manly for fighting Bakugou. I'm impressed!"

Rei was well traveled, and had seen many sights, many people, both beautiful and ugly. She had looked into the most beautiful eyes before they went dull, had glossed over the poor and downtrod with pity before pressing a small stack of coins in their hands before vanishing. She had stood before proud men with haughty eyes and watched as she ruined their lives right before them, seen their faces morph into horror from her actions. She was no stranger to handsome men and women, and she liked to think that she was mostly impervious to their looks.

Yet standing before a changeling, and a handsome one at that, who had suddenly imposed himself inside her personal space and was grinning at her like she was a goddess herself descended from heaven, made her brain short circuit for a moment as she stared breathlessly into crimson eyes.

Her cheeks flushed.

"Oi! Shitty hair idiot!"

Bakugou's yell snapped the two of them out of their moment, Rei's head turning to watch as Bakugou fumed from his position far ahead of the group. His own red eyes pierced the two of them, and Rei suddenly felt embarrassed at her closeness with the dragon boy, pulling away from him and putting a foot of distance between them. The ash blonde only sneered, whipping his cloak dramatically over his shoulder. "Don't forget who you're indebted to!"

"Aw, don't be like that!" Clearly nothing could put a damper on Kirishima's spirit as he clapped a hand on Rei's shoulder, moving the two of them closer toward the group. The grin was still plastered on his face, and looking like it wasn't budging any time soon. Turning his head to Rei, he winked, lowering his voice. "Don't mind him. He's not so terrible as he seems."

"I heard that, idiot!"

"Then explain why he has the worst attitude I've ever seen while walking this planet," Rei muttered half to herself, rolling her eyes as the group resumed their pace, Bakugou taking the lead and Rei and Kirishima bringing up the rear.

The latter barked out a laugh at Rei's dry statement, finally removing his hand from her shoulder and placing both hands on his hips. "I like you! Let's be friends."

Lips twisting up wryly, Rei's eyebrow lifted in amusement at the boy's straightforwardness and bright attitude. He was clearly someone that she wanted on her good side; changelings were few and far inbetween, and Rei had never even met one until now. "Zero," she offered as a formal introduction.

"Nice to meet you officially! Say, I've never met a Miqo'te until now."

"Neither have I met a changeling."

"Great! I have a question, actually…"

Now that the group had gotten over the initial shock of the giant red dragon's true form, they began to relax and talk in their various groups. Rei and Kirishima continued to linger on in the back, trading information about their respective races and Rei letting Kirishima ask the questions he couldn't earlier while in his other form. She found that she rather enjoyed his company, similarly bright like Uraraka while maintaining a fighter's spirit that she simultaneously respected and felt slightly intimidated by. At least he was on her side.

As their voyage continued, Rei couldn't help but notice that Bakugou was sending somewhat discrete glances back in their direction. Well, really, they were more like glares that dared Kirishima to keep talking, but the redhead didn't seem to notice anything, leaving Rei in a rather awkward predicament. Should she bring attention to his master's indiscrete glaring? At the end of the admittedly short internal debate, she decided to ignore Bakugou as well. He wasn't her mother, and she was curious to see what would happen if she continued to ignore him, and how long it would take his temper to explode.

A rather rude thought, but Rei was no lady.

To his credit, Bakugou said nothing for the rest of the day. Frankly, he said little all the way through their evening meal as the rest of the group continued to chatter away. It was only when the rest of the group decided to practice sparring with one another that he made his move.

The rest of the group had broken up, with Kirishima and Iida taking on Midoriya and Todoroki. Uraraka had elected to practice spells and continue reading up on some of her spell books, and Rei had opted to simply watch the four boys take one another on. She had been intent on watching Kirishima fight in human form, admiring his obvious skill and craftiness in battle.

But her head managed to look to the side for just a moment, in time to watch Bakugou slip away from the camp. For a moment he looked backwards before disappearing into the shadows, red eyes barely visible in the dark. But with Rei's pristine vision she could see them looking back toward her, and their eyes locked for a moment before he vanished. Curious, she snuck off a minute later, taking off in his direction in wonder at what he wanted.

After a minute of weaving through the forest, ducking under low hanging branches and carefully treading over thick, gnarled roots that were raised from the earth, she finally came into a clearing. The moon was high above their heads, a full orb in the sky that offered a gentle blue tint to the inhabitants of the earth. Bakugou stood on the side of the clearing opposite of her, a dark glare on his face. It was similar to the look that he had worn on their trek all day, immediately making Rei cautious as she stepped into the ring, watching his every muscle move with anticipation.

For a minute they simply stood there, sizing one another up. It was the first time since their first battle that Rei had a moment to simply take all of him in, the tattered and torn edges of his blood red cloak, the beaded and toothed necklace that fastened it around his chest and added a flair of fierceness to his already jagged features. Wild, like an animal, like no man that Rei had ever seen. And yet in him, she saw a piece of herself; a creature that few had ever lain eyes upon, a curiosity, oddity, and marvel stitched together in one piece. Filled with bitterness and pain, layered with the masks they wore to keep themselves sane.

It was in that clearing that she realized that they were more alike than they initially seemed. She wondered if he thought the same.

The silence stretched on and on. Finally Rei shifted, leaning her weight to one leg as she tilted her head, a single eyebrow raised in anticipation and curiosity. "Well? Get on with it."

The only reply she received was the unsheathing of a sword, its steely blade gleaming in the moonlight and singing for battle. Standing straight up once more, she narrowed her eyes as she watched her opponent slide into a battle stance. "What is this?"

"Fight me."

It was a demand, not a request. And yet for some reason it was only half tinged with the anger she had been expecting, his tone coming across instead as somewhat reasonable. Confused, she hesitated for a moment before reaching for her kukris. She had left her cloak at the campsite, all her motions easily readable and making her feel bare before her enemy.

The moment her hands touched the hilt, he came barreling toward her position, leaving no time to think. Instinct taking over, she ripped the blades from their scabbards and crossed them over one another, bracing against his downward slash. Red eyes glittered with a barrage of emotions, while gold only narrowed in determination. If it was a fight he wanted, it was a fight he would get.

Like before, it was a furious dance of blades as they wove between one another, using their speed and various odd angles and twists to try and catch one another off guard. Most of their moves would work to a stunning degree on any other classically trained person that was raised in the upright forms like Todoroki and Iida most likely were, but against one another it only pushed them to get more creative. Their blades clashed with one another, the metal singing out in the clearing as the song of the night drew around them, with little other noises made save for heaving breathing and their steps as they moved around one another in circles.

She could feel his anger seeping through this time. With every blow there was an emotion sitting right behind it, pressing up against her and trying to push her down into submission. But she refused, matching blow for blow. Occasionally they would back off from one another, pacing in circles as they watched their opponent before someone would inevitably dash back into the fray, starting the dance over again. A deadly dance, one with frightening and lethal intent.

Then, it happened. For a moment her concentration slipped as she prepared for an attack, barely realizing in time it was a feint intended to distract. She attempted to draw her blades up in time to defend, but her grip weakened for an instant, enough for Bakugou to take advantage. With a spin he sent her blades flying into the air, red eyes gleaming. Much to her surprise he pushed onward, continuing to send jabs in her direction even though she was unarmed.

For the moment, at least. She ducked and dodged every jab he thrust in her direction, but she knew that she wouldn't last for much longer. Backing up quickly and creating a breath of space, she placed her hand on the hilt of her rapier and drew it with one fluid motion, meeting her opponent's sword with a peal that rang out into the silent space.

Silence. Then Bakugou pressed down harder, forcing Rei down to her knees with a grimace. He was much stronger than she was physically, but she refused to give in. Their eyes clashed again, a violent swirl of emotions passing through.

In his eyes she saw recognition and satisfaction.

Her own eyes narrowed. "You knew?"

"I had my suspicions, oh mighty Whirlwind. But your sword talks louder than you ever could, a weapon rumored to be made of the heart of a comet."

"Strange. I wouldn't think a lord of dragons would spare much of a thought to a lowly wanderer such as myself."

Rolling to the side, she escaped from his onslaught before standing up again a few paces away. He only twirled his sword in his hand, a new gleam taking over his eyes. "Finally, an opponent worthy of my time!" Laughing maniacally, he readied himself once more. "Show me the skill of the black assassin!"

Rei's eyes glittered at the challenge, strength renewed once more. "With pleasure."

With renewed vigor Rei took charge of the next offense, speeding toward Bakugou at an unearthly pace that would have most common folk wetting their pants in fear. But he only cackled and swung his sword down with exuberance, matching her blow for blow in exhilaration. The thrill of finding an equal had overtaken both their minds, and while their fight was dark and almost dirty neither could deny the sinister spark of joy they found blazing in their chests.

The rumor of the Black Whirlwind was not without foundation; Rei's skill was truly something to behold. Years of training with her kin and surviving in the wilds thereafter had sharpened her senses and made her get creative in order to survive. She had many tricks up her sleeve, gleaned from her expansive travels, and a lesser man would not have been able to keep up with her skills as well as her heightened abilities as at Miqo'te. But Bakugou was no regular man himself, keeping up with Rei readily. His own skills were nothing to blush at, and he readily showcased every bit of them as the two dueled. Pushing their skills to the absolute limit, they were pressed to survive every twist and turn that their opponent threw at them.

But in terms of weaponry, Rei had the upper hand. Her rapier was swift and true, and after a while she sent Bakugou's sword flying through the air and across the clearing, landing in the dirt a ways away. She had thought it to be the end, letting her guard down for a moment before realizing that her opponent had thought otherwise. He lunged for her throat, teeth bared and hands coming for her regardless of the sharpened weapon in her hands. Caught off guard, he knocked her wrist out of the way, forcing her to release her weapon in shock as she tried to stagger away from him, to no avail.

They crashed into the ground, Rei landing on her back as the wind was knocked out of her. With one of her hands already secured in his grasp, Bakugou sought to capture the other one, but was too slow. Nails bared and sharpened she scratched his chest, drawing a small bit of blood and earning a groan from Bakugou as he rolled away, clutching the wound. Taking the time to recover she backed away, still in a low crouch as she watched him carefully.

He pressed his own hand to his wound, checking the depth before realizing it wasn't as severe as he had originally thought. Attention turning once again, he grinned ferally at Rei, who shuddered at his expression. "What? Are you done already?"

If she wasn't so exhausted, she would have rolled her eyes at his antics. But she was still engrossed in the moment, head in battle mode as she looked him over. "I never said anything."

"Then fight me, if you're not scared."

Never one to back down from a challenge, Rei flexed her hands, wiggling her fingers as to ready herself for the next attack. It seemed as though neither had any intent of picking up their discarded weapons, settling for a straight up brawl. Rei knew she was at a disadvantage through and through, but her pride wouldn't let her turn away from the fight. She wanted to see this through, no matter if she ended up losing. A defeat was more honorable than cowering away from the fight. So she stood on the balls of her feet, waiting for a moment longer before dashing onward and back into the fray.

It was like watching a housecat fight against a mountain lion, what with the way Rei had to dance around Bakugou's towering, muscular figure and avoid taking direct blows. To her fortune she was lithe, and having a tail meant that she could change her direction much more easily in order to throw her larger opponent off. There were multiple occasions where she had changed directionality at the last second, making him stagger from the sudden change. But her tricks could only last so long.

Having a tail was beneficial, but also another downside. Just as Rei was certain she had made it out of another close call, a firm tug on her tail stopped her dead in her tracks. A shudder ran up her spine at the sensation as she grunted. The next thing she knew she was face down on the dirt, with someone sitting on her back as they held down her arms next to her. She resisted for a moment, trying to throw him off before giving in, flopping into the ground. Defeat. She had lost.

The moonlight was still high above their heads as the two of them panted, trying to catch their breath, the only sound in the clearing. At least her opponent had the decency to not sit on her upper back, allowing her to breath in fully, although it didn't help the awkwardness in that he was now straddling her waist. She could feel her cheeks flush, although she convinced herself it was simply from the exertion, nothing more. They had been fighting for a while now. She wondered if the rest of the group had noticed that they were missing by now.

Head turned to the side, she could barely see a piece of his outline as he sat above her triumphantly. He lowered his head slowly, until he was right next to her ear, whispering.

"I won."

With a sigh and one final shudder she relaxed beneath him, pressed into the ground in submission. "Fine."

"As victor," he pressed on, much to her surprise and almost amusement, "I demand a prize."

This time she couldn't help the groan that came from her throat, closing her eyes. In her conversation with Kirishima earlier he had mentioned that he had come into the service of Bakugou after losing a duel. What would he demand of her? Her free will? Her sword? That was one thing that she would never give up; someone would have to kill her and pry it from her cold, deadened hands.

She didn't have to wait long. To her surprise he backed away from her, pulling off of her back and sitting down next to her in a cross legged position. Blinking in surprise, she slowly pulled herself up, mimicking his position and facing him head on. His face was schooled into a neutral expression, making it difficult to get a proper read on him. What would he demand? Something outrageous? Would she be in servitude to him from here on?

"What is it?" Her words came out frostier than she intended, but so impatient she urged him onward. He didn't even flinch at her icy attack, red eyes instead appraising her for a moment longer before speaking.

"Let me touch your ears."

"Why?"

She couldn't help her knee jerk reaction; of all the things she had expected, this was not one of them. Gold eyes watched as his face morphed into one of childish annoyance, arms crossing over his chest. "Why what? I'm the one making demands here, idiot!"

Snorting, she mimicked his action, crossing her hands over her chest. Tossing her head to the side, she refused to look at him. "Fine."

She hated it when people touched her hair or her ears. But it was more than just convenience or that she didn't like other people getting in her personal space; it was personal as well. Her sister had been the one to hold her as a child and sing her to sleep, running her hands through Rei's hair in order to comfort her and pull her into slumber. It was her sister who twisted complex braids with flowers and ribbons before they went wandering through the forest, pretending to be heroes in distant lands on various quests to save the city. Touching Rei's head was sacred, and she didn't want others defiling those precious memories that she now guarded with fierceness.

She could sense his fingers approaching slowly, as though with caution. The moment that they touched her skull she was surprised at the softness, the carefulness with which they proceeded as they caressed the outside of her ears gently. Instinctively, she closed her eyes, almost leaning into the feeling as they scratched the part where her ears met her skull, still moving slowly as though worried that she would snap out and bite his hand off. Even though she had been tempted to do so at the mere mention of touching her ears, she found that she felt quite the opposite now. As soon as his hand left her head she felt almost empty, as though something had been taken from her that she hadn't realized was missing in the first place.

Gold eyes opened to meet crimson, the later glittering with some unnamed emotion that Rei couldn't place. But his face backed away as he moved to stand up, walking away to gather his discarded sword. Reluctantly Rei copied his motions, gathering her weapons and dusting them off before putting them back into their scabbards. With a sigh she turned around, almost smacking into Bakugou's chest at his unexpected appearance, apparently having snuck up behind her while she was distracted. Since when was he so stealthy?

Looking up into his face, she found her mouth opening up. "Why?"

An eyebrow arched upward. "Why what?"

"Why make that your request? Why not force me to follow you too?"

He barked a laugh, openly grinning at Rei. "I wanted something that you wouldn't give. Besides," he added, turning his back toward her as he began walking back toward camp, "I've no interest in keeping you around."

She was surprised that he had remembered how Todoroki has asked to touch her ears and how she had refused. But the latter statements had her scowling as she stormed after him, managing to eventually keep up with his longer legs. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"You don't have someone to spar with on your level. Even if I let you go, you'll come back for the fight."

Rei snorted. "Cocky and conceited to a tee. What makes you think that you know me?"

"You're not denying it, idiot."

She had to admit that he predicted her correctly. A scowl still plastered across her face, she rolled her eyes, sniffling. She hated being beaten, through and through. It had been a while since she had been bested, and it came with a surge of emotions. Irritation, anger, a bruised ego. Yet simultaneously there was a bit of her that longed for the next rush, the next time they would clash swords. He was right, even if she hated to admit it. "Prick."

"Idiot."

Her nose wrinkled at the scent of iron, eyes dashing over to his chest as she glanced at the wound. "Hurry up and wash off that blood. They're gonna think I pulled you out to beat you up."

"Who the hell just lost?"

"Shut it and go clean yourself up."

"Maybe you should take your own advice. You're covered in dirt."

"Because you smashed my head into the ground!"

"Well then maybe you should've done better!"

"You're an incomparable asshole!"

"Look who's talking!"

* * *

_Do not go gentle into that good night,_

_Old age should burn and rave at close of day;_

_Rage, rage against the dying of the light._

_._

_Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright_

_Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,_

_Rage, rage against the dying of the light._

_._

_And you, my father, there on the sad height,_

_Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray._

_Do not go gentle into that good night._

_Rage, rage against the dying of the light._

_._

_\- Dylan Thomas_

_Do not go gentle into that good night_

* * *

For months their entourage traveled the lands, meeting other voyagers along the way and forging bonds with them. Some had joined their party, others had left along the way. But no matter what, the core seven remained together, fighting their way through demon hordes as they sought answers for the mystery behind the disappearing heroes.

It was only time until their travels took them to the badlands in furthest corner of the lands, a place deserted and barren after the infamous final war against the demon lord himself many eons ago. But instead of finding a wasteland devoid of life, they came face to face with a new horde of demons, eager to break their skins and devour them from top to bottom, ready to tear them apart.

Calling on all their companions that they had met along the way, they joined forces for one final battle.

It had begun.

While everyone remained in the same general vicinity, most of them had broken into groups of three or four in order to fight more effectively as wave after wave of demons rushed upon them. Rei had no say in where she went, as Bakugou had swiftly grabbed her wrist at the beginning of the fight, dragging her up onto Kirishima's back as he morphed into his massive dragon form, the three of them taking off into the skies. As Bakugou raged at the front, slicing cleanly through the horde in front of them, Rei had taken to protecting their back. Rapier in her hands and at the ready, she swiftly cleaved through any enemies that attempted to catch them off guard or aim for the sides with a scowl on her face.

It was rather effective, as they set up a defense on all sides. With the trio in the skies, it was one less thing for the earthbound fighters to worry about. But where their own numbers were limited, the demons seemed to be infinite. For every target Rei took down, another appeared in its place. The hours wore on, with no end in sight.

Then it happened. Rei had let her attention slip from the left side for just a moment too long, a demon with a wicked curved sword taking advantage. Shrieking with a battle cry he dove into the dragon's side, plunging his sword into flesh as it managed to slice through the scales like butter. With a roar Kirishima thrashed, throwing Rei off guard as she looked around in panic. When her eyes landed on the demon her eyes flashed, pupils slitted in anger and determination. Letting a cry rip from her throat she lunged at the demon, leaping off the back of the dragon and colliding with the antagonizer. She pulled him away from the dragon, the two of them sailing through the air and into dead space.

"Oi! Zero!"

Bakugou's cry was too late, Rei sailing through the air. She sliced the demon's head clean from its shoulders, showing no mercy. Down and down she fell, until she landed in a spot all on her own, surrounded by demons. The enemies were surprised by her sudden appearance, turning to watch her as she pulled herself up from the ground, a cloud of dust emanating from where she had collided with the earth like a dark comet streaking through the sky, heralding the end. The long fall wasn't enough to kill her, only sending mildly uncomfortable vibrations through her joints. With teeth bared and rapier ready, she snarled.

"Come and fight me!"

Shrieks rang through the air at the isolated hero, who took in the barrage in stride. Whirling in a cyclone of death, she watched numbly as the bodies fell all around her, cleaved into pieces by the black blade that sang for the blood of their enemies. It was almost picturesque, a goddess of death in a dance to the grave, slaying demons by the dozen.

Another body landed next to her, and she turned in surprise, lips parting as she took in the figure in shock. A familiar tuft of ash blonde hair and a wickedly feral snarl greeted her, blood red cape flickering in the wind.

"Don't steal all the kills from me, idiot!"

Grinning at Bakugou's sudden appearance, she took a moment before the two stood back to back, looking at the enemies sprawled before them. "It's Rei," she offered. "My true name."

"Who cares? Just don't go dying on me!"

"As long as you don't go dying on me either."

"Who do you think you're dealing with?"

Kirishima soon followed, dropping down with the other two who were already on the ground. Knives at the ready, he grinned at the other two people. "Oi, save some for me!"

Rei only raised an eyebrow, a smirk on her lips. "I think there's plenty to go around."

"Stop talking, start fighting!"

With a battle cry the three launched into battle once again, attacking with renewed vigor. They began to move through the battlefield, taking down their enemies at a much faster pace than before. With the three of them together they moved seamlessly, watching one another's backs while occasionally quipping wittily to keep their spirits up.

The whirlwind intensified, a blazing gale of unstoppable forces that razed the battlefield and left destruction in their wake.

It was only time before their scattered group made their way back to one another. Exhausted and battered, their entourage fought and fought valiantly, until they were ready to collapse. Rei could see it on their faces, could feel it in her own bones; how long had they been fighting for? How much longer would things continue like this?

A roar sounded.

It was different from anything Rei had ever heard before. Even she couldn't deny that she was shaking out of fear from the way it rattled her chest, not just trembling from exhaustion at this point. The demons all around them began to fall away, leaving their group confused at their sudden retreat. But with their retreat came a chance to breathe, and as exhaustion began to take hold of them they let down their guard for just a moment. Rei fell to her knees, using her sword to try and hold her upright as best as possible. Breathing hard, she looked around to their party, seeing everyone in similar states. Only Midoriya still stood on his feet, looking around wildly in confusion as he breathed hard.

Uraraka was the one who saw it first, pointing to the sky. "Look!"

The moment Rei turned her head, she wished she hadn't.

The demon lord himself had appeared.

Rei's hands fell to her side, face upturned in fear. "It's useless," she muttered half to herself. "I can't move anymore…"

To her surprise and horror, it was Midoriya who moved to the front of the group, sword grasped firmly in his hand. His back turned toward the rest of the group, his face was unreadable, but Rei's eyebrows furrowed as she watched his shoulders slowly pull back, his posture grow taller, his stride trembling less and less with every movement. Something was different, something had changed in this boy in a matter of moments.

The red gleaming eyes of the demon lord focused on the small boy, taunting him as it laughed. The sound sent shivers down Rei's spine, and she closed her eyes for a moment, looking away. This couldn't be it, not the end…

Suddenly, a bright light began to emit from Midoriya's blade. Burning brighter and brighter, she almost had to look away from the fierce light, but something in her was so drawn to it. A fiery figure began to manifest behind the young boy, mirroring his every movement and copying his stance as he readied himself to deliver the final blow.

Everyone's eyes widened as the figure began to grow more defined, recognition dawning.

_All Might… ?_

With a cry Midoriya slashed his blade across the sky, the fiery All Might doing the same motion in tandem. The mighty sword hurled a line of flames that arced through the sky at a hurtling speed, colliding with the demon lord before he had time to react. With a howl that pierced Rei's ears the creature fell, melting into the ground and slowly disappearing from the scene.

The winds whipped around the battlefield.

The clouds stirred.

The sun's rays streamed through.

The battle was over.

Rei, who had been closest to Midoriya at the time, stared in shock and wonder as he turned around, the figure of All Might vanishing with the wind. Green eyes met with gold, and Midoriya offered a smile. "It's alright now."

"Is it over?"

He shook his head, a frown coming over his face. "No. It only wounded him. The fight isn't over yet."

"For a moment, I saw… All Might."

"Yes." Midoriya's fist clenched, a new look of determination coming across his face. "I heard his spirit call out to me. He's alive, somewhere. I need to find him, in order to defeat the demon lord once and for all." He walked forward, offering a hand to Rei. She took it gratefully, standing up on her feet once more as they shared a look of severity.

"So it isn't over."

The boy shook his head, a look of despair coming into his eyes. "No, it isn't."

Heaving a sigh, Rei rolled her shoulders. She turned away, walking back to her sword and cleaning the blade with her cape before sliding it back into her scabbard. With a wry smile twisting her lips, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I still haven't learned what I came along to learn. My sister might be out there, and we won't know for sure until that creature is defeated. The answers are out there, somewhere."

Her words brought a brilliant, jubilant smile to Midoriya's face. "Zero, will you come with me?"

"I suppose someone has to keep you in line, as well as that Bakugou."

"OI! I'M NOT DONE YET! COME OUT AND FIGHT ME!"

She was dirty, exhausted, and hungry. There were smudges of grime and blood across her face. The land wreaked of flayed flesh, and the battle was nowhere near over. She was nowhere closer to the answer she needed; why her village had been attacked and whether or not her sister was still alive or not. But standing there in the badlands, alive and mostly well, she listened as Bakugou, irritable as ever, yelling out obscenities and kicking the demon corpses as Kirishima tried to reign him back in and console him. In that moment her eyes met Midoriya's green, and they shared a secret smile that made her lips tremble.

She laughed, because she knew that, one day, they could finish the fight.

* * *

"_Hope" is the thing with feathers -_

_That perches in the soul -_

_And sings the tune without the words - _

_And never stops - at all -_

_._

_I've heard it in the chillest land - _

_And on the strangest Sea - _

_Yet - never - in Extremity,_

_It asked a crumb - of me._

_._

_\- Emily Dickinson_

"_Hope" is the thing with feathers_

* * *

AN: (in the voice of Loki from Thor: Ragnarok) Surpriiiiiiise ~

And I wrote this in two days (plus one day to edit)

I still don't know how I did it.

Thank you everyone who left a bunch of guesses as to what this chapter would entail in the reviews! You've all given me a lot of good ideas for the future; I've actually already started writing about one of these ideas, and I've begun scaffolding for a second. I'll probably be inserting them as bonus chapters when the moment is right, because some of them contain spoilers right now, but look forward to seeing more fun, bonus content in the future! **And if you enjoy fun chapters like this, please leave a review to let me know what you'd like to see!**

**As always, thank you for your reviews...**

**Genderbend deku**: Ah thank you so much! I am glad you've found this story! You are never too late for anything; if anything, it's more fun for you since you didn't have to wait for a bunch of updates up until this point. I hope you continue to enjoy it!

**dragontamer64**: Hahaha I had so much fun writing the text messages. Honestly I related to that so hard; autocorrect should learn some things at some point, but some things never change...

**N3mm**: I was going through some of the chapters I've posted, and I saw that! Honestly thanks for being with me since basically the beginning; I'm glad you still love this story, and I hope that you will still enjoy it going forward. I'm a little apprehensive about some of the plot points that I'll be introducing soon, but it'll be an adventure, that much is for sure!

**FireFox614**: Yes, part of the reason why I can update is because I wrote 22 chapters (about 115k) in about 2-3 weeks back in January. I've returned to beef up a lot of the chapters and do some basic editing, so it's only growing bigger (like, I hit 100k in chapter 11? unreal for me). I am doing my best to continue writing so that I will at least get through the license test in a timely fashion; I've been watching the anime, and I might start reading the manga just so I don't have to wait until October! Which hopefully, will mean more content for you :D

**Incognito**: Like they always say, "if you don't find the content, make it yourself." But at the same time, "do I have to make the content myself?" Hahaha but I'm so glad you like this story! Also, yes about Bakugou... I want the cute feelings so much too! But I'm trying to contain myself and stick to a logical pace. The struggle is so real...

**ansegiel**: lol yes they are my cute little idiots that can't handle feels very well! Honestly I'm having so much fun writing their interactions. When I think about Rei and how she'd handle any type of feels, I imagine those pictures of irl bumblebees that are just... head diving into flowers and bumbling (lol pun) around like the lumpy idiots they are. I love my lumpy idiots. Rei is technically not a lumpy idiot but... she's a dork at heart 3

Please look forward to our regularly scheduled content next chapter. We're diving into Hosu City! Will Rei be my lumpy, lovable, punching bag that gets tossed around? ... Probably!

lol poor Rei

**Please leave a review telling me what sort of special chapters you might like to see next!**


	14. Internships (Part 2)

Chapter 14

Internships (Part 2)

* * *

Smoke, ash, and flames tore the night sky open with orange anguish, a battlefield of unwilling participants running amok as the landscape threatened to devour them with teeth of shattered glass and talons of fragmented cement. It was chaos. Screams and sirens filled the air, and every so often the familiar shriek of a Nomu made its way to Rei's sensitive ears, though it was always distant and difficult to discern its precise location. There were at least three of them, if their different pitched screams were anything to go by. She wasn't certain if it was a good thing that the creatures weren't close to Chirasaki and her; it was good in the sense that it meant that they weren't in immediate danger, but always bad in the sense that there was potential that they were off preying on innocent civilians. Keeping her senses peeled as her head constantly moved on a swivel to take in their surroundings, Rei followed Chirasaki's lead as they leapt over rooftops and began to survey the damage, making their way to the thick of things to provide support.

They had been heading into the city when something caught Rei's eye from the side. Turning her head, her eyes widened as she grabbed her mentor's attention. "Black Panther! To the left!"

Both of them looked as a creature had burst from a bullet train, flying through the sky before crashing into a building and falling to the ground. But there was something strange about its behavior; instead of flying away, it had looked as though it was being punched, something or someone punching it instead. And Rei swore that she saw something small and yellow along with it…

Chirasaki changed direction. "This way! We're going to check out that villain's landing spot and help evacuate the area."

"Right!"

By the time they arrived people were running everywhere, trying to find safety without knowing exactly where their feet were taking them. Panic and adrenaline were dangerous things in the untrained mind, and even with training it was often difficult to resist the allure of what one's nature demanded. Rei watched the tidal wave of bodies moving through the streets below her feet as the two heroes leapt over the rooftops, entering a commercial district with buildings increasing in height as they went along. The scene was lit eerily by the flames, a sharp contrast to the typically electric blue and neon setting of Hosu City as the smoke curled around the streets. Going against the current of people for a short while, the epicenter finally revealed itself. There in the center of the streets, the Nomu screeched as it chased after people indiscriminately.

"Get those people over there," Chirasaki pointed at a couple who had frozen in fear on the streets. They were kneeling next to a car, peering over the hood with frightened eyes as the Nomu tossed its blind head with horrifying dexterity that was certainly inhuman. "I'll distract that creature."

"Be careful!" Rei called after him. "Those things can have multiple quirks!"

He flashed a thumbs up at his side before he careened through the air, dropping a powerful kick onto the Nomu's head as he went. Rei landed next to the couple, moving to stand in front of them so that she pulled their attention from the fight onto her. "Please, this way!" She pointed to their left, grabbing the woman by the arm and tugging her along, forcing the duo to follow her lead. Gritting her teeth she tried not to drag them too hard, attempting to be as gentle as possible. But suddenly they screamed, pointing to the side with wide eyes. Rei turned her head, following their gaze as she tried not to scream in horror as well.

The Nomu was coming after the three of them, crawling on all four arms and legs like a wild animal, saliva dripping everywhere as it tossed its head. Brains pulsating, eyes swirling, it charged with feverish fervor, shrieking in that abysmal voice that completed this monstrosity straight from a horror film.

She could hear Chirasaki shouting for her in the distance, backtracking as fast as he could to help his intern. But both of them knew that he wasn't going to make it in time.

It was fight or flight for Haru. Instinct kicked in.

She wasn't running anywhere.

Without hesitating she stepped away from the couple in order to put her body in front of them as a barrier, pivoting over her shoulder as fast as she could and delivering a kick to its head. It was powerful enough to send the beast into the ground with a crack, its head lolling on its shoulders as it went limp for a brief moment. It was enough of a distraction for Chirasaki to get on the creature's back, wrapping his hands around its neck and yanking it as hard as he could. Turning back to the couple she picked them up from the ground, taking their hands into her own and pulling them away. "You'll be alright. Just focus on me, and follow me."

They were obviously panicking, their minds not quite screwed on right as they trembled, but they seemed to be coherent enough to listen and understand what Rei was saying. She smiled as best as she could, keeping her golden eyes trained on their faces, flickering back and forth between the two. Smoothing her face, she attempted to remain as calm as possible, if only to reassure the two civilians. "Let's get out of here. I'll protect you."

Slowly they began picking up the pace, until they finally were in a fast run. It wasn't a sprint, due to the woman's choice of heeled shoes, but they were moving with purpose and gaining good distance. Rei continued to jog backwards for a moment longer, watching Chirasaki fight with the Nomu, struggling to subdue the fiend. But she forced herself to turn away, regrasping the couple's hands and leading them away herself. She had to have faith in her mentor, and she had a job to do.

This was what a hero did.

They ran for a full city block until a police line finally came into sight. Once they turned the corner and made themselves known a couple of medics rushed forward to receive the couple, taking them from Rei's hands and escorting them away with soft reassurances that seemed more natural and practiced than what Rei had provided. The smoke wasn't quite as thick anymore in this spot, and Rei realized just how bad it had been, her face mask protecting her from the majority of it. But that couple had been in trouble. She grit her teeth, realizing her mistake. She should have told them to cover their nose and mouth with their shirts; they had clearly been under too much distress to think for themselves.

But they vanished from sight, a police officer stepping forward to receive Rei. "Thank you for your help. Please return to safety."

Shaking her head, she backed away. "My mentor is back there. I'm going to help him." Without hesitating she sprinted back into the distance, the smoke, debris, and chaos obscuring her figure as she disappeared around the corner. She could hear the police yelling for her to return, but she ignored them.

Rei was determined. She had to help Chirasaki. He had given her permission to fight. Now that the couple was safe and the zone was cleared, she wasn't going to sit back and let him deal with everything on his own. She was afraid for his well being; from her experience at USJ Rei had seen first hand what that Nomu could do, and even though this one seemed a little off compared to the last one it was still just as dangerous. Sprinting through the mess she drew closer and closer to fight. Even if she was limited in what she could, what little information she could provide had the potential to turn the tide, or at least to help Chirasaki win the fight. She braced herself as she entered the field where the fight was.

Or at least where the fight had been. She stared in shock at the three figures that stood around the broken body of the Nomu, jolting to a complete stop just a few paces away from the carcass that lay broken on the even more broken sidewalk.

"Black Panther!"

The three men turned to look at her, but only one's expression changed into that of relief as soon as Rei caught his attention. She jogged forward to close the space, running up to Chirasaki's side. The other two heroes only stared in confusion, matching Rei's own internal struggle. _Endeavor? And another hero I don't know…_

"Meishin." For a moment Rei forgot that it was her hero name, though she straightened her posture as soon as she stood before her mentor. He looked pleased, although tense and wary. Rei chalked it up to the bizarre nature of his fight. Nomus weren't regular villains. They were far beyond what anyone could ever imagine in reality.

"Everyone has been evacuated to the safe zone," Rei reported with confidence. She had been scanning the streets and alleyways on her way back, satisfied that the coast had been cleared. That one couple had been the last of the people in the streets, unable to move from their panic and close proximity. She felt sorry for them; they would be having nightmares for the next few weeks, if not for the rest of their lives. But at least they were safe and in the hands of authorities now.

Chirasaki nodded, turning back to the other three men. "The two of us can continue rallying up stray civilians around the main fight." Everyone turned to look into the distance, the telltale glow of embers in the distance. "There should be a lot of heroes gathered over there."

The short older man in the yellow cape had stepped onto the Nomu's back, watching its prone figure cautiously. "Let's restrain this guy quickly so we can turn him over to the police and go help."

But Endeavor apparently had other plans. His face had glossed over with a look of dark contemplation, as though considering something else. Suddenly, Rei was struck by an thought, recalling a conversation she had with Todoroki not a week prior. He had stated that he was going to take his internship with his father's firm, taking Rei by surprise. If Endeavor was here, that meant Todoroki had to have been somewhere close as well. But where was he, if he wasn't with his father?

The flame wielder looked to the old man. "Leave this villain to my sidekicks. You three, go to the address I'll give you now. I will be enough for the main fight over there." As he gave them the address Rei pulled out her phone, ready to type it in. But she froze at the message she had received a few minutes ago, not realizing that she had received anything. It was most likely from when she had been running with that couple, so engrossed in the heat of the moment that she hadn't felt the buzzer go off. She opened the text quickly, eyes widening as Midoriya's ping. The link opened to a map, which led to…

Her heart stopped.

Apparently her horror was obvious, as Chirasaki turned to her in concern. "Meishin, what's wrong?"

"Midoriya…" She knew now. Todoroki was here in the city, but if he wasn't with his father and Midoriya had mysteriously sent his location without anything else… "Let me see your location."

To her horror but also unsurprisingly, the location Endeavor had sent to Chirasaki and the location Rei had received from Midoriya were one and the same. She looked up to her mentor, eyes hardening. There was no time to explain. Something was terribly wrong, and every second counted. She turned to Endeavor, looking him straight in the eye. "Leave this to us."

Suddenly realization lit up his eyes. Flames crackled loudly as he narrowed familiar cerulean orbs at Rei. "You…"

But she turned sharply, her mind already hundreds of feet away. Breaking out into a run she launched herself high into the sky, aiming for one of the rooftops as she sailed out of sight.

She didn't have to wait for either one of the pro heroes to catch up, though she was caught off guard at just how fast the older man was. The two men were quickly sailing through the skies with her, sprinting over the rooftops. Rei was thankful that she had begun endurance training with Chirasaki, the movements coming naturally.

The older man in yellow narrowed his eyes at Rei, although he seemed more interested than suspicious, for all the severity and harshness in his face. "How do you know my intern?"

Rei's eyes widened. "Midoriya... is your intern?"

"Gran Torino." Chirasaki awkwardly tried to do his best at a brief introduction from the wizened retired hero to his young intern, even as they rushed through the night air. Rei continued to check her GPS every few seconds, making sure that they were on the right path. For the first time since she had arrived in Hosu City she was thanking her lucky stars that she had paid so much attention to the layout of the city, the gauntlets she had been running for the past few days suddenly adding substantial detail to her sense of direction. Turning left she began running along a new street, adjusting her speed quickly to compensate for the turn. "This is Meishin, my intern from U.A.."

Gran Torino scoffed, blasting through the air and almost overtaking Rei. In fact, she was confident that he could overtake her, considering the enormous power he had in his feet. Speeding through the skies with the power of wind, now that was something she could get used to. "So you know Midoriya. I'm guessing you're classmates?"

"Yes." They were drawing closer, the location just further up the street. "We're almost there-"

"There!" Chirasaki pointed to the dead empty street, a small cluster of people coming out from an alleyway. "Look!"

Gran Torino was the first to blast off, pulling far ahead and landing in the street as Rei and Chirasaki did their best to catch up. Rei huffed, muttering half to herself as she hoisted herself over a railing to get to the next building. "To be half as maneuverable as him…"

Chirasaki managed a small grin, for all the severity and seriousness of the situation. "Gran Torino is a retired pro hero. To see him out here though…"

Finally drawing closer, Rei could only watch as the older man flew toward a Midoriya who was being carried by another pro hero, sending his giant yellow boot directly into the green haired boy's face. She would have laughed, had the situation not been so dire. But she could hear him as she reached the building just above his head, jumping off and making her way to the bottom as fast as possible.

"Gran Torino is the pro hero I'm interning with. But why…"

Rei suddenly landed, scarring the other four people shitless as the ground cracked beneath her feet. Standing up quickly, she looked over the four, noting three familiar faces and sighing in relief. For all their injuries at least they were still standing and in one piece, although it might have been the adrenaline kicking in and keeping them on their two feet. "Midoriya, Todoroki." Her eyes widened at a disgruntled and worn Iida, someone that she hadn't been expecting. "Iida-san…"

Chirasaki landed behind Rei, scaring the four again. He sighed. "Meishin, you need to work on your landings. You should be able to soften them yourself, without having to damage the ground."

Sheepishly, Rei scratched the back of her head at the reprimand. "Right. Sorry."

But Midoriya's mentor only fumed, glared daggers at his intern. He ignored Rei and Chirasaki's appearance, continuing to berate his own mentee and fuming at the lack of information. "We were told to come here all of a sudden. Well, I don't know what's going on, but I'm glad you're okay."

Rei had started moving closer to her friends, but a closer look at the rope in Todoroki's hand had her eyes following the trail, eyes widening in fear. She froze in her tracks as her eyes took in the sharp lines and the blood trails of the person in bondage, seeing clearly even in the half illuminated alleway. "Is that…"

"It's around here!"

Voice and footsteps were drawing incredibly close, drawing the attention of the group. Everyone looked in surprise as another group of pro heroes drew close. "Endeavor told us there was a request for help here, but…"

Immediately the group broke down, assessing the wounds of Rei's three classmates and of the other pro hero who had been found at the scene. The call for police backup and medical services was put in first, with the new pro heroes taking control of the situation. Rei looked to Chirasaki, smiling in relief as he pointed his chin toward her friends, giving her permission to catch up with her classmates. Stepping away from her mentor with a grateful nod she drew close to the trio, but paused as she watched the three interact.

"You two…" Iida bowed at the waist in apology. "You were injured because of me! I am truly sorry. I couldn't see anything through my anger…" The tears began to fall from his eyes. Even Rei, who had never cared for their class president and his loud and obnoxious mannerisms, was moved to compassion, seeing Iida in an entirely different light. Something had been weighing on his mind, and quite heavily. She had seen it after the sports festival, but she hadn't wanted to say anything simply because of her distaste for the boy.

This was certainly a lesson in passing quick judgements upon someone. How could she be a hero if she was so quick to determine who she didn't like, and thus turn her back and a blind eye to their needs? Stepping forward she grasped his uninjured arm gently, meeting his gaze gently as he turned to look at her in surprise. She strengthened her grip, allowing him to lean on her for support. Of all of them he was definitely the most injured, the blood stains all over his usually pristine costume.

Gold eyes met navy blue in a moment of surprise, shock, exhaustion, and understanding. But Rei couldn't bring herself to say anything, filled with shame at her own ignorance. This wasn't about her anyway. She swallowed hard, casting her eyes down to the ground.

Midoriya bowed his head. "I'm sorry too. Even though you were feeling so cornered, I didn't notice at all. Even though we're friends…"

Iida sobbed, but he held back as the tears continued to run. Rei said nothing, simply placing her free hand on top of his own, helping to hold him up. There was nothing to say, really.

"Pull yourself together. You're the class president, aren't you?" It was harsh, but the way Todoroki said it was gentle enough, a word of encouragement masquerading as a reprimand. Iida simply wiped away his tears, pulling himself together and nodding.

Rei wondered at their strength. From what she was able to gather, the pro hero Native had been out of commission for the entire fight. That meant that these three-Iida, Midoriya, Todoroki-had taken on the hero killer alone. How? Without a doubt, they were some of the most talented people in their grade level, but they were only high school students. The thought of facing such a violent killer chilled her blood, and she shuddered to think about what had been going through their minds in that fight. A real fight.

That wasn't to say that USJ hadn't been a real fight either. But compared to what they faced during their first week of school, the Hero Killer was no joke. How was it possible to compare those common thugs to someone who had gone out of their way to kill and main more than a handful of pro heroes, and for what seemed to be no clear reason? Her gaze turned to the villain who was restrained by rope wrapped around his body multiple times, until she couldn't even see what was beneath. But was that even enough? His face was turned away from her, but she didn't want to look at him.

The face of a killer, a true villain among society. He had shed blood, all for a cause that he somehow rationalized as just. It sent a shudder down her spine.

These three boys were strong. Even as she stood with them, she had a sense that she wasn't really standing with them at all. There was a bond that they had forged from their struggle, a common understanding that passed among them. Rei had seen those Nomus, but she hadn't gone toe to toe with a serial killer. And they had passed.

She wanted to have that strength as her own. So she stood proudly among them, holding Iida up and doing just what she could. That was enough for now.

"Get down!"

The shout had come from Gran Torino, but the sound of flapping of wings quickly drawing closer had Rei looking toward the sky. For a moment she froze. Another Nomu was diving their way like a bullet fired from a gun, its eyes and jaws greedily trained on the group below. Rei could see its trajectory, could see where its eyes were trained. Instinctively she lunged away from Iida, dropping him from her grasp and pushing a hand to Midoriya's chest-

Pushing him out of the way, just as talons encircled around her torso.

Her stomach threatened to rise into her throat as the creature lurched from the ground and began to climb into the sky, Rei frozen in its grasp and watching in horror as the ground began to grow further and further away. She heard Chirasaki call after her, could see Midoriya recovering from her push as he watched the sky hopelessly and in horror. The entire group of faces stared up at her in shock, as though mirroring everything she felt. At least she had gotten her classmate out of harm's way. If there was anyone who could survive this creature it was her.

She had stared death in the face and laughed, and she would do so now.

But the Nomu's grip was constricting, growing tighter and tighter. She tried to wriggle out of its grip, extending her nails and sinking them into the fleshy body of the creature, but it only shrieked loudly, Rei wincing at the noise. Now that she was close to it, the sound grated even more harshly on her ears, threatening to burst her eardrums. She hated it. Grinding her teeth, she closed her eyes tightly. She felt something crack, most likely a rib from how difficult it suddenly became to breathe.

Suddenly its flight path began to level out, no longer increasing sharply into the sky. Then it began to descend, though not of its own accord. Something was wrong with it. Even its grip had stopped becoming tighter, though it was still uncomfortable and Rei was barely able to wheeze in breaths. They began to tumble to the ground, a free fall that Rei was unable to break out of. At this height and rate, she would be taking the brunt of the impact, and while she was certain that she would survive the fall in some way, shape, or form she didn't want to know what would happen if the Nomu landed on top of her.

"All these false heroes, and these villains who wave their powers around idly…"

A raspy voice sounded near Rei's ear, and she froze. This was no pro hero. She heard a knife slicing into the brain of the Nomu, moments before she crashed into the ground below. Pain, all over. The talons had released their death grip, Rei rolling out and onto her side as she coughed. Something was fractured. In fact, she was sure that multiple things were fractured. She was having difficulty breathing. Rolling over to her stomach, she began to cough, eyes seeing blood spittle appear on the ground in front of her. Definitely broken.

"All of them should be purged."

She had forgotten the mysterious person who had careened through the air with them and taken down the Nomu. But her senses were on edge, a dangerous aura now sizzling above her, even if she couldn't see who it was. Suddenly she realized that rolling onto her stomach might not have been the best idea, but she was in too much pain to move and change her course now.

A raspy sigh sounded from above, along with a knife that repeatedly plunged into flesh. Rei was only thankful that it wasn't her flesh, a shudder going down her spine and the sensation of nausea rising at the sound created, although she was certain that at this rate, she would be next. "This is all to create a more just society." Next to her she heard a body colliding into the ground, the clatter of a knife next to her head. Forcing her head to move she dragged her face along the broken pavement, scratching her face as she tried to see just who it was that had landed next to her.

She stared up into violent crimson eyes. Their gaze locked, and Rei stiffened.

A hand fell onto her back, pressing down as the hero killer pushed himself up. It only put more pressure on her broken rib, Rei crying and sputtering as she continued to cough up blood. "You…" She couldn't look anymore, eyes filling with tears in fear and pain. "He had a picture of you too…"

_A picture? Who? What? _But she was so delirious that she only choked out another cry. She heard him grab the knife in his hands again, a gritty sound that could barely be described as laughter wracking his chest. "You're a fake too, just like those others. What'll happen if I kill you before him?" She felt a blade slip into her back, another scream releasing from her throat as he continued to laugh. "That's right! You're going to fall, just like all the others…"

She had said that she did not fear death. How could she fear death, when she herself had stared it in the face so many times and come out unscathed? She, the one who seemed to cheat death, all thanks to her quirk that kept her body tied together even as other forces threatened to tear her apart? She did not fear death. But in that moment she truly understood what fear was. It hadn't manifested when she saved Midoriya, when she risked her neck for someone else. It was never there when she had fallen to her own injury during the sports tournament, or when she did something reckless. But now she knew where it did exist.

It existed here, at the hands of someone else who wanted nothing more than to put her into a world of pain.

She would not die. She could not die. She would feel each stab time and time again, until someone decided it was enough. Lying limp in the hands of someone else she realized that this was where her fear resided; when she was lying at the mercy of someone who wanted nothing more than to drag her broken body across a boulevard of glass.

Fear. It was here, in her chest now. She knew it well. And there was nothing anyone could do.

But suddenly the laughter stopped, the hero killer standing up and hovering over her body. His attention was no longer on her. She could hear him stepping on the leathery wings of the Nomu, the tendons and wiry bones snapping under his metal boots. "You fake… I must make things right… someone will be dyed in blood!"

Rei felt as though she was drowning, now pressed to the ground simply from the killer intent that was seeping from the hero killer himself. Crimson darkness smothered her, covered her nose and mouth with a kerchief laced with passionate violence that spoke of only the worst ways to die. "I must take back what it means to be a hero. Come and get me, you fakes!"

"The only one I'll let kill me is the true hero, All Might!"

Overwhelming, utter darkness. Despair intermingling and mixing with rage and desire, cruelty and absolute violence that thirsted for blood. Rei was certain that she was delirious, imagining such things, but all of a sudden the hatred stopped, and she was almost able to breathe again.

She didn't know what had happened. She couldn't see anything from where she was, save for the silhouette of the dead Nomu's corpse next to her. But in that moment she had faith that someone would finally come for her.

She had faith that a hero would save her.

She could already feel her quirk as sinewy flesh began to repair, could feel the way that the bleeding began to slow and crust over. Already she was being saved from the otherworld, the realm of death. She would live. Now, all she could do was wait for someone to save her from the pain, the unimaginable torture.

Eyes rolling back into her skull, she finally passed out into darkness, dead to the world as she knew it.

* * *

Waking up felt like coming out of a long, drugged slumber. Her senses felt dulled down, like her mind was being dragged through a swimming pool full of slime, or jello. It was an odd sensation, being unable to function like normal. Eyes sealed shut from heavy slumber, the first sense to come back was her nose. Sniffing the air delicately, her nose twitched at the powerful scent of antiseptics that overwhelmed her, the scent barreling through her nasal cavity and almost covering the lighter ones of a sterile yet floral environment.

Sterile… Floral… She had smelled these things before. It was familiar.

A hospital?

The smell of cleaners had been particularly powerful, Rei's nose continuing to twitch until she couldn't stand it anymore. She was unable to hold back the sneeze that came through, jerking her head up from the pillow as her stomach contracted. Immediately she flopped back onto the bed, a groan coming from her throat. That had hurt like hell.

"Rei-chan?"

Her mind was groggy, like it was filled with a fog. She recognized her name, but was unable to place the voice. It too was familiar, the irritation of not knowing spurring her onward as she slowly pried her eyes open. Eyes twitching and trying to adjust to the bright light, it took her a few moments before she was able to look at the wall and ceiling in front of her, the neutral cream color overwhelming her senses. Everything was too overwhelming, but she forced herself to turn her head to the left, eyes fluttering as she blinked away the sleepiness.

Gunmetal hair framed warm brown eyes that stared at her in concern and excitement. Rei smiled at the familiar face. Even with all the pain and the strange sensations, there was no one she wanted to be by her side more. "Reina…"

The woman sighed in relief, flopping back into her chair. Another figure walked into Rei's line of vision, standing behind Reina's chair and placing a hand on her head. Golden eyes peered into Rei's face, as though uncertain if Rei was actually conscious. "You with us this time, little cat?"

Rei snorted. "What kind of question is that?" Her words were still a bit slurred, but her mind was slowly becoming sharper, the details forming as the pain began to return. It was muted, but she was now aware of almost every injury in her body.

Chirasaki sighed, leaning back. "Looks like you're actually awake this time. I'll get the nurse."

Blinking slowly and blearily, she watched as her supervisor left the room, turning around the corner and disappearing from sight. Golden eyes turned back to her primary mentor, watching as Reina placed Rei's small hand inside the grasp of her own, enveloping her with a warm gesture. It was then that Rei saw the IV in her arm, a scowl at the needle.

"I know you hate needles, but leave it. That one's giving you your pain medication."

With a groan Rei flopped her head back onto the pillow, a squishy and delightful impact for the first time in a while. At least this was comfortable. At this point Rei was almost certain that she had bled out on nearly a dozen surfaces from past experience, so she liked to think herself an expert on what was the most preferable and the most uncomfortable. There was none more relaxing than a comfortable and supportive bed, even if it was technically a hospital. Chirasaki's words came back to her, and she tilted her head to the side. Her brain was still foggy, but she managed to piece together as much as possible. "Was I awake before?"

Reina stroked her hand soothingly. She was well aware of how much Rei wanted to rip the needle out and chuck it across the room, the older girl doing her best to distract the younger, more temperamental one. "You were in and out. It was mostly because you kept metabolizing the pain medication quickly, so you kept waking up. It's been almost a full day since the attack."

Another scowl crossed her face. "I don't remember."

"And that's fine." Shifting forward, she traced the back of her index finger along Rei's furrowed forehead just between her eyebrows, getting the muscles to relax from the motion as Rei's face smoothed over. "We're just happy you're good now."

"Mmm." Rei hummed happily, closing her eyes at the movement. There were few times when she gave into her more cat like reflexes and impulses, but Reina always seemed to spoil her. For the moment she simply relaxed, allowing herself to be taken in by the moment.

She was alive. She had survived. And never before had she been so grateful to her quirk to keep her in the world of the living.

Moments later a nurse came back in, closely followed by Chirasaki. He had removed his hero apparel and was dressed in casual clothes, the first time Rei had seen him look so normal. Both he and Reina watched carefully as the nurse ran through some tests and began to redress her wounds, Chirasaki asking various questions and engaging the woman as she worked, the nurse more than happy to speak freely. From what it seemed like, Rei had suffered no serious injury once again, although her ribs were still fragile and would need more time to fully heal and solidify before she returned to rigorous physical activity. The nurse had estimated about a week or two, but Rei knew that she could cut that time down to a quarter. She would be fine in about four days.

But that meant that her internship would be over by the time she fully healed. As the nurse left, Rei looked down at her hands, a sorrowful look on her face. "I can't finish my internship, can I?"

Chirasaki only shook his head. "I won't stop you, but you're more than welcome to stay at the agency for the next few days. I can put you on light duty and have you help our receptionist at the front. I'm sure Hana-san would appreciate the help."

Rei sighed. "I wanted to run more circuits, but I guess that won't be happening."

"We'll see how you feel. We can always start light."

Reina turned around to slap Chirasaki, a light bantering gesture that held no serious ill intention but still had him clutching his cheek. "Idiot! Don't push Rei any more! She already pushes herself to the brink!"

The pro hero only rolled his eyes, crossing his hands over his chest. "Sometimes I wonder why we're still friends."

"That's because you need me!"

Rei smiled at their banter. It was strange for her to see Reina so carefree around someone else, but it made her happy to see her mentor in a new light. Knowing all the she now knew about the silver haired woman, Rei was filled with a sense of satisfaction. Reina deserved happiness. She deserved the world.

Reina turned back to Rei. "If you're up for it, we can try walking around the hospital."

"Oi, didn't you just say to not push her?"

Rei smiled. "Actually, there's somewhere I'd like to go."

* * *

The hospital staff had tried to force Rei into a wheelchair, but she was having none of it. She was itching to walk and use her legs, the muscles about to start cramping and seizing up if she didn't use them soon. Besides, her pride wouldn't have it. Why use the damn chair when she was perfectly capable of using her two feet? She wasn't a fragile little civilian who would break under the slightest pressure. When the nurses had turned to Reina and Chirasaki to convince Rei otherwise, the two adults had merely shrugged their shoulders with sheepish expressions, knowing full well that Rei would only ignore them as well. After nearly five minutes of bickering Rei had been given her IV drip and free reign with the promise that Reina would walk with her the entire way and call for help if something happened. Using the rod of the drip as a sort of cane she trudged forward, hobbling slowly as to not agitate her still healing core and ribs.

By the time they had made it to the elevator Rei was exhausted. She was half tempted to go back to her room and take a long nap. But her stubbornness kept her going forward, even as Reina looked at her in clear concern. Making it to the next floor Rei shuffled out, making her way down the much too long hallway until she came to the right room.

There was laughter coming from inside the room, Midoriya and Iida's voices muffled but still audible for Rei. She placed a hand on the door, opening it up just as Todoroki began arguing.

"I'm not joking. I'm like the Hand Crusher or something."

It only riled up the other two boys for an even louder and more rambunctious round of laughter, the two of them cracking up at Todoroki's serious musing. Opening the door a little bit more it made a bit more noise, grabbing the attention of the boys inside as they looked sharply to the door to see who had come to visit them. Rei peered in as the laughter stopped, three sets of eyes looking back at her in surprise.

For a moment the four of them simply stared at one another, Rei's mind still a bit out of it and unable to form any sort of greeting while the three inside the room looked shocked out of their minds. Suddenly Iida stood up, Midoriya hobbling over to the door. "Akatsuki-san!"

At the call of her name Rei slid the door open further, revealing the IV drip she had been carrying with her as well as the bandages on her body. The sight of the drip plastered looks of horror and concern on the boy's faces, especially Midoriya who managed to stutter out his concerns. "A-akatsuki! Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Moreso, aren't you supposed to be…" Iida trailed off, unsure of how to word his question.

"More broken?"

The three of them were stunned at Rei's blatant honesty and especially the hint of dry amusement with which she had replied, watching as she shuffled into the room. "I need to sit. I'm tired."

"Did you walk here by yourself?"

It was at this moment that Reina peered around the corner with a massive grin on her face, surprising the three boys once again. "Don't worry! I'm her escort. Rei-chan, call me when you're ready to go." After seeing a nod from the black haired girl Reina closed the door behind her, disappearing out of sight and leaving the three boys sitting in shock.

Rei shuffled over to what she assumed was Midoriya's bed, making her way around so that she could face Todoroki and Iida. "Can I sit?" Midoriya frantically gestured for her to make herself comfortable, watching her carefully as she sat down unceremoniously. The sudden jolt made her cringe in pain, the sensation sending coils of shock into her ribs.

The gentle green haired boy reached out, but froze just short of touching her, unsure of what was healed and what wasn't. "Akatsuki-san, are you sure you should be up?"

"I'm bored," she groaned, a completely different side to her. "I don't wanna sit anymore."

Todoroki's eyes bored into her, uncertain if he believed that she was as fine as she let on. "Weren't your injuries bad? How are you even awake?"

Rei sighed grumpily, hands propping her up on the sides as she sat on the bed. It was harder than she had imagined, trying to keep herself up straight. But she was bitter and determined, and starved for interaction. Besides, she had been curious and a bit worried about her classmates' well being, so she had decided that the trek would be worth it, even if she only stayed for a short while. "The fractured rib and the knife wound were the worst of it, but I should be back to normal in about four days."

"Eh?! Four days?"

Iida stared hard at Rei. "That's impossible, unless you have-"

"Regenerative powers. I know." Rei looked rather annoyed about it, much to the confusion of her classmates. Who wouldn't want accelerated healing? But it wasn't their fault that they didn't understand the intricacies of her quirk and everything that she had gone through in her short life. Brushing those thoughts away, she shrugged her shoulders as best she could, though the motion was still stiff. "My quirk isn't called Nine Lives for nothing."

"Woah, incredible! I didn't know that."

Rei turned her head to Midoriya, who had taken a seat next to her. "That's because I haven't told everyone all of my quirk's abilities. It's a lot easier if everyone just expects the high jumping and the claws."

The boy sitting across from her folded his arms over his chest as his eyes clouded over, thinking back as he pulled a memory up in his mind. "Back at the sports festival, when you fell…"

"You didn't see it, but it was pretty bad. Fortunately, with Recovery Girl's help, I was able to make it to the award ceremony."

She felt bad as she saw the boy's face fall, guilt clouding his face heavily. It made her soften her face, genuinely sorry that she had made him feel bad. "It wasn't your fault. It was my dumbass mistake."

"Still…"

Rei rolled her eyes. "It's fine, stupid. I'm still in one piece, and I'm kicking." She glowered at him from her position. "If I could reach out and flick your forehead from where I'm sitting, I would do it, just for how stupid you're acting."

"Akatsuki-san…"

Rei looked to Midoriya. "Call me Tsuki. That goes for all of you."

The three of them stared at the girl, blown away by just how talkative and how strange she was acting. Iida leaned forward, testing the waters. "Tsuki-san, are you sure you're feeling alright?"

She scowled again. "I'm fine. The medication is making me feel loopy, so I'm still a bit out of it thought." Shaking her head slowly, she lowered her eyes. "But I mean it. I'm fine." Golden eyes lifted to all of them. "As will all of you, too."

They were still thrown off by her comparatively talkative behavior, each of them unsure of just how much the medications were effecting her. But she seemed coherent enough, the look in her eyes clear enough to determine that she was aware and for the most part, feeling like herself. For Iida in particular he was completely thrown by how sarcastic and talkative she could be, but also how kind and soft she was at heart. For Midoriya he was almost seeing double, some of her mannerisms immediately reminding him of Kacchan but her gentle side still showing through. But for Todoroki, he was beginning to fit the puzzle pieces together.

Akatsuki Rei only wore that cold mask as a front. The only question now was how long it would take to break it down completely for their class.

For at least another five minutes the four of them began to banter, Midoriya recounting exactly why she had heard them laughing before she had walked in, at Rei's request. It was enough to get a chuckle out of her as well, although she had to hold back from the pain in her ribs. From there the conversation bounced back and forth, the four of them ultimately relaying the events to Rei in order to tell her what their cover was. She had already deducted the truth from what she could recall, that her three classmates had essentially single handedly taken down the hero killer. She was in on their secret, their injuries explained away as separate incidents that happened during their internship. For all the rest of the world would know, the four of them had only passed one another by. They wouldn't know about the common experience that they shared, and the afternoon they spent in the hospital with one another, relishing in the fact that they were miraculously alive.

But as the minutes wore on the boys could see that Rei was still not as fully healed as she tried to portray herself as. She began sagging, the pain coming back to her eyes even as she tried to hide it. Eventually Midoriya went and retrieved Reina, who had been sitting outside the room a few paces down in an attempt to give them some privacy. With a smile, a brief introduction of herself, and a wave farewell the woman carted Rei off back to their floor, sliding the door shut with finality.

Rei's shoulders were slouched from exhaustion, even as her posture brought a sharp pain to her ribs. She was exhausted, and Reina offered her arm for balance as they walked toward the elevator. Rei gratefully accepted her support, leaning on her mentor as they made their way back.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

Smiling as best as she could, Rei's eyes glimmered even in the stale hospital lighting. "Yeah. We'll be fine."

Reina said nothing at the inclusion of her classmates, her face as smooth as ever. After helping Rei back into her bed she tucked the girl in, smoothing her hair down lovingly. "Sleep. I'm going to go out for some food, but I'll be back."

"Mkay." She was out like a light, a serene expression on her face as she slept.

Everything would turn out fine.

* * *

_**Yaomomo (8:30 AM)**_

_Are you okay? Just heard about the Hero Killer_

_Please let me know that you're okay_

_**Tsuki (7:15 PM)**_

_I'm fine. Hospital._

_Don't worry about me._

_Hope you're okay too_

_**Yaomomo (7:56 PM)**_

_Hospital?! That's not okay_

_**Yaomomo (7:57 PM)**_

_It's been slow. I'm sure there's something I'm missing here_

_**Yaomomo (7:57 PM)**_

_Were you with the hero killer?_

_They said that four high school students were at the scene_

_**Tsuki (8:00 PM)**_

_Just a few scratches. I'll be out of here tomorrow_

_Endeavor saved us_

_**Tsuki (8:01 PM)**_

_I'll tell you all about it when we get back to school_

_**Yaomomo (8:02 PM)**_

_I'm glad you're okay_

_Rest up! 3_

_Get lots of rest_

_**Tsuki (8:08 PM)**_

_I will. You too._

_Good luck :)_

_**Yaomomo (8:10 PM)**_

_3 3 3_

* * *

_**Midoriya (8:02 PM)**_

_Tsuki-chan! Do you have a phone charger?_

_**Midoriya (8:02 PM)**_

_Gran Torino is bringing my belongings but I'm at 10%_

_O_O_

_**Midoriya (8:05 PM)**_

_Nevermind, Todoroki found his!_

_**Tsuki-chan (8:05 PM)**_

_Sorry mine probably won't match yours_

_**Midoriya (8:06 PM)**_

_Thanks! Come visit tomorrow okay?  
^_^_

_**Tsuki-chan (8:09 PM)**_

_I will_

_Good night_

_**Midoriya (8:06 PM)**_

_Goodnight! :D_

* * *

_**Bakugou (8:03 PM)**_

_You better not be fucking dead_

_**Akatsuki (8:04 PM)**_

_Too late_

_**Bakugou (8:04 PM)**_

_Smartass_

_**Akatsuki (8:06 PM)**_

_:(_

_**Bakugou (8:06 PM)**_

_Stop using stupid emojis_

_**Akatsuki (8:06 PM)**_

_Joykiller_

_**Bakugou (8:07 PM)**_

_It's supposed to be joykill_

_**Akatsuki (8:09 PM)**_

_A smartass too_

_**Bakugou (8:10 PM)**_

_Not my fault you don't know how to spell words_

_**Bakugou (8:10 PM)**_

_Aren't you supposed to be on patrol?_

_**Bakugou (8:10 PM)**_

_Stop texting and get to work, stupid_

_**Akatsuki (8:10 PM)**_

_Someone couldn't spell fuck the other day :P_

_**Bakugou (8:11 PM)**_

_Shut it dumbass_

_**Akatsuki (8:11 PM)**_

_I have to get my bandages changed_

_**Bakugou (8:13 PM)**_

_Don't tell me you got beat up already_

_**Akatsuki (8:33 PM)**_

_Sorry for being a literal hostage by the hero killer_

_**Akatsuki (8:34 PM)**_

_Not everyone has sparkles for their quirk_

_**Bakugou (8:34 PM)**_

_THEYRNEOT FICKING SPARKLES_

_**Bakugou (8:35 PM)**_

_FUCKING_

_**Bakugou (8:35 PM)**_

_FUCK OFF_

_**Akatsuki (8:37 PM)**_

_:)_

_**Bakugou (8:38 PM)**_

_Go sleep or something. Aren't you supposed to be healing?_

_**Akatsuki (8:40 PM)**_

_I just woke up_

_Rib's almost fully healed. I'll be out tomorrow_

_**Bakugou (8:41 PM)**_

_Whatever. I'm going to sleep._

_**Akatsuki (8:45 PM)**_

_Good night_

_**Akatsuki (8:52 PM)**_

_Turn off your phone vibration_

_**Bakugou (8:52 PM)**_

_Fuck off_

_**Akatsuki (8:53 PM)**_

_:)_

* * *

The rest of the internship had passed rather slowly. Much to Reina's displeasure, Rei had decided to return to Black Panther's agency for the remainder of the week, even as she dealt with the healing process. Although it irked Rei to be so immobile, it had been enlightening to sit with Hana at the front desk, on occasion welcoming in prospective clients and taking them to meet with Chirasaki. It allowed her to see the job from a different perspective. Not to mention, Hana was a wealth of information and stories, working diligently while also entertaining Rei in a way.

She was grateful for everything, for every experience, even if they weren't what she had expected. By the time the week was up she was disappointed to return back to U.A., having admittedly gotten used to the swing of things. But it was time to get home, and faster than she could blink she found herself making her way to the train station with Reina and Chirasaki by her side. Reina had stayed with her in order to help her carry her belongings back on the train to get back home, Chirasaki taking the morning off to say goodbye to his latest protege and one of his best friends.

At the platform Rei had bowed as deeply as she could, showing her utmost respect to Chirasaki. "It was a honor working with you this week. Thank you for everything."

He scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry that you got so heavily involved with the Hosu incident. It's a shame that I couldn't train you as properly as I wanted."

"It's okay." Rei smiled. "I'll be sure to increase my regimen when I get home. I'll remember everything you taught me."

The man scoffed. "I would hope so." Even so, his face softened, a genuine smile on his face. "This might be jumping the gun, but I hope that I might get to call you my sidekick in the future. If this is really what you want to do, then my door will always be open."

Drawing in a sharp breath, Rei's smile expanded even further. "Really?"

Dropping a hand on top of her head Chirasaki ruffled her hair, much to her displeasure. Shaking her head as soon as he back away she preened herself, trying to regain her composure. It wasn't impossible seeing how short and messy her hair always was, but it was strange to have someone touch her hair like that. She secretly didn't mind, but she had an appearance to keep up. Chirasaki grinned at her scowl, placing his hands on his hips. "Really. But I know you'll probably get a lot of offers too. Don't feel obligated or anything. But I look forward to working with you someday in the future, no matter where you end up."

Backing away with a stupid grin on her face, she watched as Reina and Chirasaki hugged one another. "Miss your stupid face."

The man grinned. "Miss yours even more. Don't be a stranger, both of you."

Picking up their bags, the two of them boarded the train with one final wave goodbye. The doors closed a few minutes later, and the two girls were off, speeding back home to Kumo City. Rei leaned against the window, Reina sitting next to her and tapping away at her phone. Eventually Rei looked on in interest. "What is it?"

Reina's eye twitched. "My mother is being a hassle again. As per usual."

At this Rei grew quiet, unsure of how to approach Reina. But she did eventually, simply opening her mouth and speaking her truth. "Chirasaki-san told me. About your parents."

Brown eyes looked at her in surprise, but there was a complete lack of blame. Instead she smiled. "He has a habit of oversharing, but that's neither here nor there. I'm sorry I didn't tell you myself."

Shaking her head, Rei had let it go a long time ago. "What are you gonna do?"

At this question Reina grew quiet and focused. She seemed to think long and hard about her answer, truly contemplating it as they sat on the train, the landscape flying by outside. "I think," she eventually began, "that I've been running for a while. Maybe it's time to pick up my responsibility."

Responsibility. It was a heavy word, one that weighed Rei down. Someday she would bear that weight, the responsibility of others, upon her shoulders. It was the destiny of a hero. But it wasn't just heroes; everyone had responsibilities over something, whether big or small. She contemplated things silently, musing to herself as Reina continued to click away at her phone, face eventually smoothing over and becoming much more happy once more. "Are you excited to go home?"

"To be honest, I'm going to miss Black Panther's agency. But I guess I'm ready."

Reina grinned. "Great! Want to stop by the bakery on the way back?"

"Is that even a question?"

* * *

AN: Well, here we are. I feel like we're blasting through the story so quickly. But not to worry; some of the upcoming chapters are pretty dang beefy, so it'll be a good time.

Just to give another update on where I am with the story; I'm currently working on chapter 24, though chapter 23 is super rough and will need a few rounds of editing. I know some people have expressed concern that, once I catch up with posting chapters to where I've been writing, that I might slow down severely with updates. I promise to the best of my ability that I will continue writing, as long as there is BNHA content for me to use, or I will take the time to make more AU/ special chapters for you all. I've never had so much support in the reviews, and I don't want to let you down (and also, this story has actually been pretty fun to write!).

**Is anyone interested in writing tips, or my insights to this story and structure?** I feel like I could dedicate a portion of the next author's notes to sharing some tips that I've found useful, or maybe posting them on my author's page. Leave a comment and let me know if you're interested!

**As always, thanks for the reviews...**

**dragontamer64**: Wowowowowow, such high praise! Thank you so much, omg. As to why I'm good at writing, it's a lot of practice. My undergraduate degree is in English (and I completed enough units to qualify for both a literature and creative writing emphasis), so I've been going hard with writing for the past three years at least. I know I've only posted 3/ 4 stories here, but my Google Drive is... overloaded. I've written stories for Lord of the Rings, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy XV, Bleach, and a bunch of others. I just haven't posted them. Needless to say, I'm constantly writing (which helps improve over time), and I'm also always reading. Reading exposes me to different styles, which is why I've started to develop a style that's kind of unique to me.

**Psycho-Jellybean**: Thank you! I'm glad you've found this story, and I hope you continue to enjoy the future chapters! I have plans to include more bonus chapters in the future as well, since it seems like people have enjoyed them so far.

**N3mm**: I like to imagine that Rei and Bakugou will always be bickering and fighting, no matter what time, place, or universe. It's just... them. Hahaha it's a dynamic that's also really fun to write! I'm glad you enjoyed the special chapter too!

**Please leave a review if there's something you like! It helps me write more and write faster for you all. Have a great week!**


	15. What Stains a Heart

Chapter 15

What Stains a Heart

* * *

With the week of internships finally over, Rei still felt strange going back to the normal school schedule at U.A.. It wasn't just the fact that she had started getting used to the swing of things at Black Panther's agency, the day to day activities beginning to becoming ingrained in her mind. While she certainly already missed her mentor and Hana, the lovely receptionist that worked for the agency, there was something else amiss. Ever since Hosu Rei had felt slightly unsettled, a part of her changed in some fundamental way.

But she would be lying if she said she didn't know what it was. She just didn't want to face it, own up to the fact that it was making her head spin in circles, her heart jumping every few moments as adrenaline would suddenly spike through her body at the sudden, unbidden memory that would sporadically jump into her present mind.

Fear.

There were times when she had been scared, like the first time she had leapt from the top of a building and felt the exhilaration and gut dropping sensation of sailing through the air, filled with uncertainty of what what exactly would happen once she hit the ground. Or like when she had felt anxiety leading up to the acceptance letters for high school, waiting for a full week and still having to grind through the everyday work of middle school when her life would be drastically changed, one way or another. But this was true, pure, unadulterated fear that she had experienced first hand on that long week of interning. She had long denied that she feared death, coming to terms with the fact that she couldn't die for whatever godforsaken reason. She tried to convince herself that she had nothing to fear, since no matter the outcome, she wouldn't be able to cross the threshold between life and the other side.

Now she realized that, while that may have been true, those thoughts had simply masqueraded her true fear. She could not die, but she could feel pain. Lying at the mercy of someone with enough vindication and sadism like the way she had quite literally felt while she lay beneath the hero killer's foot, she had realized that her past near experiences with death had involved something relatively quick. But if someone figured out that she couldn't die, then they might be pressed to push her limits, and in the most grotesque and elongated manner possible.

And that was what she truly feared.

She hadn't talked with anyone about it. Rei hadn't wanted to bother Reina, since she didn't have a firsthand experience of what exactly heroes did, and she didn't want her mentor to worry excessively about her. Neither did she want to open up around Chirasaki; their relationship wasn't quite there yet. And although she had friends like Midoriya and Momo, and the group was beginning to expand to Todoroki and even Iida a bit, she wasn't ready to spill her darkest secrets and fears yet either.

So she kept to herself, letting the fear gnaw at the back of her mind, eating her away piece by piece. She knew it was rotting her flesh, festering and flourishing in the darkest parts of her that she tried to ignore, but neither did she have the strength to bring it to the light and face it on her own. Horrors in the dark at least went unseen, unlike those that were paraded around in broad daylight for the waking world to peer at with disgust and terror. As she walked to school she grasped her backpack straps tightly, knuckles turning white from her tense grip, her jaw stiff from the lack of motion. It was another day, and yet Rei was filled with apprehension. Even with the sun in the blue skies above her head, Rei had a distinct feeling that something was going to go wrong very soon.

The class was already half full when she arrived, allowing her to slip in quietly without drawing much attention and skulk over to her desk. She noticed that Iida and Midoriya were standing around Todoroki's desk, talking amongst themselves quietly. It was Todoroki who saw Rei first, raising a hand in greeting, drawing the attention of the other two. She nodded at the lot of them, making her way to her desk and settling down quickly, organizing her materials while keeping her head down.

Thankfully, Momo wasn't far behind. For some reason, the only look that Rei could identify on her friend's face was complete and utter relief. Blinking slowly, she watched and waited for the vice president to sit in her seat, sliding her bag to the ground and sighing in relief. "Good morning, Tsuki-chan."

Rei nodded. "Morning. You look…" she trailed off, uncertain if she wanted to call Momo out for a moment, "... relieved."

She only sighed again. "Yes. As much as I was looking forward to our internships, I'm afraid mine wasn't as fruitful as I had hoped." But she shook her head, putting a smile on her face and moving on from her problems and disappointments. "But how was yours? Aside from the Hero Killer."

"Yeah. It was… chaos." That was the best way to describe the entire scene without letting too much detail out. Rei shrugged. "But I did get some experience helping evacuate civilians in the mess."

"Oh, that is wonderful that you had experience! Although, not so wonderful for the civilians. We didn't even get to do a real patrol."

"Well, I guess every hero operates differently?" It ended up coming out as more of a question than Rei had anticipated, but Momo apparently accepted her encouragement with a slow nod of her head. "At least we're back now."

"That's very true. But tell me a bit more about your internship! You were with the pro hero Black Panther, right? What's he like?"

With Momo still feeling dejected and out of sorts from her past week, Rei felt obliged to dig into her experience, no matter how unsettled she felt at her core. She began to talk about how she had been chosen, and how there had been a connection with her mentor and the pro hero. Momo listened attentively, and even Rei was engrossed in their conversation as she began to explain operations, procedures, and even some of the skills that she had picked up. They were so absorbed, in fact, that they hadn't even noticed Aizawa enter the classroom until he stood at the front of the podium, motioning for everyone to calm down.

"Alright, welcome back. Hopefully you learned a lot on your internships, but now it's time to focus again."

Turning in their seats, Rei began to buckle down for the day. As attendance was taken, she thought about her conversation with her deskmate. Should she tell Yaoyorozu about her fears? Now that she was thinking retrospectively it would have been the perfect time; going into the rest of their day they wouldn't be sequestered by themselves any longer. She found herself wanting to tell someone, and if there was anyone she could trust it would be the first person who had dared to reach out to her to extend a hand of friendship.

Finding the resolve in her heart, Rei watched the front of the class with anticipation. She had decided. She would talk with Momo after school on the way home.

* * *

Even if Rei had been dreading returning to class, it was clear that she was becoming used to the routine, even after the week long gap. Present Mic's lectures were more bearable, and Rei found that she was able to write down information more quickly, processing the questions and answers faster than ever. She still never raised her hand to answer in class, but her confidence was growing when she was asked to read a paragraph out loud. The progress was showing in all her classes, in fact. No longer did she walk out to lunch in a daze, brain attempting to shove all the information into slots like a massive puzzle while her conscious mind drifted around in a haze. She was confident, comprehending almost everything and certain that what she didn't understand, she would review in her notes later to absorb.

Today there had been something that Rei had starred quickly in her notes during the lecture, so as Yaoyorozu rose from her desk and looked to Rei expectantly she was surprised to see the girl behind her flipping through her notebook. "Are you ready for lunch?"

Rei looked up, shaking her head in a tiny motion. "I want to review something really quick. Save me a seat?"

Hesitant to leave, the grey eyed girl eventually obeyed, leaving with a nod of her head and walking out the door, meeting up with Jirou and breaking into a spirited conversation as the two left. Slowly the classroom began to get quieter and quieter, until the last person left and the door was shut behind them. Heaving a sigh, Rei found the page she needed, taking her time to read through her notes diligently. _The adjectives always precede the noun, so that was the reason why this sentence was wrong. But when it comes to adverbs…_

So absorbed in her notes, she had failed to notice that she wasn't actually alone in the classroom. Ears picking up the sound of a chair scraping the floor, she paused to look up. She wasn't entirely surprised anymore to see Bakugou making his way toward her desk, leaning against the window as he did over a week before when she had been sorting through potential internships. The familiarity of the situation put a small smile on her lips, a sharp exhale through her nose in amusement as she tilted her head to look over at the boy. "Need something?"

He said nothing, only staring at her for a moment longer before lifting his right hand to her again. Rei's smile grew a bit wider, naturally understanding what it was that he wanted. But she shook her head, turning back to her notes. "Give me a minute. I need to figure out this part from the English lecture today."

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, he scoffed, shoving his hand back into his pocket as he waited. Rei took her time reading, another full minute or so passing by until she flipped the book close with a sigh. She would definitely need to review the content with Reina at least one more time. Her understanding was a bit better, but Reina was a genius when it came to English. Now that she thought about it, was it because her parents wanted her to be a business woman, just in case she had to contact foreign clients?

But she slid the notebook back into her bag, turning in her chair to face the blonde boy and extending her hands toward him. Stepping away from the wall he placed his right hand in her palms without hesitation, bringing another small smile to her face. As she began feeling his forearms she noticed that they were strangely loose, or at least less messed up than before. "Your arm feels a lot better this week."

Scoffing again, he tossed his head to the side. "Damn internship. I didn't do jack shit while I was there."

Rei couldn't help but take a jab at him, knowing full well that she would pay for it later. "I wouldn't say that. You did have that nice makeover going for you when you came in."

With his free hand he flicked her forehead, making her scowl and pause her motions. "If you do that again, I'll stop." He cursed under his breath, rolling his eyes in annoyance but otherwise doing nothing to go against her. Fingers moving again, she noticed that he had begun breathing in deep and slowly, remembering her words the last time she had caught him all too stiff and motionless. So he had remembered.

"But seriously," she pressed on, feeling a knot higher up on his arm and digging her thumbs into it, "why was it so bad?"

Bakugou spat viciously as he spoke, every word laced with venom and aggression. "All he wanted to do was teach me a lesson. He didn't care about how strong I was. He humiliated me."

Blinking, Rei started making her way down to his palms. This time she could feel them laced with sweat, making her fingers run over his hands faster. She grimaced. She hated touching sweaty people. It made her feel dirty. But she was committed anyway. "I think there are worse things than having your hair parted and gelled for a week."

"Not just that, stupid!" He was actually heated about his internship, Rei watching him carefully as he began ranting. "He modified my uniform, for god's sake! He made me wear those tight-ass jeans, and I had to strip down my gauntlets and take off my mask!"

"Tight… jeans?" An image flashed in her head, the full ensemble coming into mind with Bakugou wearing skinny blue jeans with his hair gelled as it had been when he had walked in that morning. Her lips twitched, but she was unable to contain herself as she choked. She giggled, removing one of her hands from his own and placing it over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter, to no avail.

It only riled Bakugou more. "What're you laughing at, huh? It wasn't funny! I had to walk around patrols like that, humiliated!"

That additional image sent Rei even further over the edge, making her gasp for air as she laughed fully. She hunched over in her seat, pressing a hand to her face as she giggled uncontrollably. "That… was what you meant?! I…" She only sent herself into another round of giggles, eventually looking up at Bakugou with glittering eyes that refused to stop shining in amusement. The fact that a top ranked pro hero had taken Bakugou in, only in an attempt to try and curb his anger and make him look presentable was more than she could contain.

To his credit he only scowled further. "Stop laughing and hurry up. I want to go eat."

With a grin on her face, she placed her hands out again, taking his left arm and repeating the same motions. "Sorry."

"You're not sorry."

She conceded to that point. "No, I'm not."

"Idiot."

Rei only smiled, his words sounding a little more like a term of endearment that he associated with her now. It didn't have the same bite as when he used it with the rest of their classmates, or with anyone else outside of 1-A. The way he said it was softer, still with an undertone of aggression but undoubtedly different from how he usually spat out the insult. She had to admit, it was fun to rile him up sometimes. It was almost too easy. Rei couldn't remember the last time she had smiled and had this much fun outside of her interactions with Reina, a woman who had known her for over three years now. Of all the people in the class that Rei felt a sort of connection to, there was none stronger than the love/ hate relationship that she shared with the explosive boy who sat three seats in front of her. It wasn't really a love and hate, more of a love and annoy relationship. It was them.

She liked Bakugou. Even if she had been uncertain about him in the beginning, he had grown on her. She enjoyed his irritable nature, his confidence, his intelligence and quick thinking on the battleground. Somehow she had begun to see his more quiet side, the side that never came out in public or around other people, something that Rei hadn't believed existed at first. She was starting to realize that his anger and constant irritability and rage was a front, a mask that he wore on the daily. Rei could understand; she herself hid behind cold stoicism, though she knew that her mask was slowly breaking.

Finishing massaging out his palm, she patted his hand as she usually did, pulling her hand away. But this time she felt his fingers dragging along her palm, curling ever so slightly to put a bit of tension on their fingertips as they parted. The motion made her heart beat faster, Rei swallowing hard. It was like the last time they had been like this, when Rei had finished massaging his arms and he had stared down at her with an incomprehensible look in his eyes. Feeling inexplicably jittery she stood up abruptly, catching Bakugou off guard as he looked at her in surprise.

"Let's go to lunch, I'm hungry." She spoke quickly, nervously, unable to hold his direct gaze any longer. He nodded slowly, following her out of the classroom with his hands in his pocket, a somewhat serene look on his face. Compared to Rei he looked calm and composed, Rei's heart fluttering and her breathing hitched, seeming a little faster than normal. What was wrong with her?

She knew what was wrong. She had forced these feelings away last time too. But standing next to the tall, muscular boy, walking through the fairly empty hallways with one another, Rei was unable to pretend any longer.

"Bakugou."

She wasn't sure why she had spoke out, though nerves probably had something to do with it. He looked down at her in surprise, Rei slowly drawing up the courage to look at him in the face. "Do you… are you afraid of anything?"

Originally she had wanted to talk with Yaoyorozu about her fears, but she had suddenly changed her mind. She wanted to ask the boy who moved forward with stubborn confidence, who never balked from a challenge or a dark situation, the one who always had a plan working away in that brilliant mind of his. He looked surprised, caught off guard by her question, but his brows furrowed. "I ain't scared. What're you talking about? Why're you being weird all of a sudden?"

Rei sighed. Of course he wasn't. Crossing her arms, she grasped her elbows as she hugged them closer to her chest. "When I was in Hosu, when the hero killer stepped on me, I realized something. I've convinced myself that I wasn't afraid of death, but in that moment when he stabbed me, I realized that I was afraid of something more."

"Pain." She swallowed hard, looking down at the ground as they walked through the hallways. "He wanted to kill me. He told me. If he had stayed a little longer, if Endeavor hadn't shown up…" Shaking her head, her breath hitched. Her hands began to shake, trembling as she tried to control her breath and keep the tears at bay. That killer intent had washed over her in an instant, taking her back to when she had been laying on cold cement that night, the smell of smoke in the air. "What could he have done, if he realized that I couldn't die? That's when I realized, I'm scared. Of pain."

Suddenly he swung around to stand in front of her, flicking her on the forehead again. Immediately her hands rushed to her head, flinching at the sensation and narrowing her eyes on the boy. She had opened her mouth to speak-

"You were in that situation because you were weak, weren't you?"

It was an insult to pride, and she was ready to defend herself. But even as she opened her mouth again, he cut her off. "The answer is simple. Get stronger, so that no one can put you in that situation ever again."

Rei blinked, staring up into his eyes. For a moment she saw the crimson of the hero killer flashing across her memory, but the longer she looked up into these eyes the more she began to see the differences. Stoic distance, but warmth were in these eyes, so different from that of a vindicated and self-righteous murderer. Bakugou's answer had been so simple, almost overly so, but it rang true in Rei's head. She had been caught off guard, had been snatched in a moment of weakness. The obvious solution was to become stronger, like Bakugou said.

A small smile broke out on her lips. "You see everything so clearly, so simply."

"Just don't complicate things." Stepping to the side he fell back into step with her, the two of them matching a casual pace as they walked through the mostly empty hallways, all the way down through the building.

He had walked next to her all the way until they reached the cafeteria, breaking away as he brushed past her, their arms just grazing as he moved away. Rei couldn't help but watch his figure as he disappeared into the crowd, watching his back as it grew further and further away. It was like she was in a stupor, unable to properly function. Eventually she shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she got into line, brushing her hair behind her ear even as most of the unruly locks disobeyed her.

She didn't want these feelings. There was no way that he would ever feel the same. But even so, knowing that she would eventually be crushed in the end, she held them in her chest, letting the warm feeling of jitters and giddiness wash over her. There was nothing like it, no feeling that could accurately compare. She could barely keep herself together as she ordered her meal, taking her platter of curry and moving around the area, trying to find Yaoyorozu. A waving hand flagged her down, and she hurried away.

When she finally reached the table she set the tray down, slightly flustered. Momo looked at her in confusion. "Are you alright?"

Her question was enough to draw the attention of at least half the table, Jirou looking from around Momo as her eyes widened. "Akatsuki-san, are you blushing?"

Rei froze.

Then she buried her face in her hands, internally screaming.

She would never live this down.

* * *

Back into their costumes, the class met up for hero basic training at Field Gamma. It was their first time, and Rei had to look around in awe at the tangled mess of metal buildings and various other creations that looked like a radiation plant. While she enjoyed Ground Beta and other suburban and urban battlescapes, this was a completely different animal. It was certainly time to switch things up. In her golden, cat-like eyes, this was like an adult playground, and she found herself almost vibrating in excitement for whatever they were about to do.

Jirou looked at Rei strangely, suddenly panicking and clasping her hands over her mouth. "Akatsuki! Your eyes!"

A few people turned to look at Rei, who blinked innocently. "My eyes?"

"That was really creepy. You scared me!"

"Oh." Rei suddenly knew what she was talking about. "Did my pupils get really big and then shrink really fast?"

Jirou only shuddered, Momo turning to the two of them in interest. "H-how did you know?"

"It's a cat thing. Whenever I get excited and I look at something, my pupils get really big, and you can't really see my irises. It also depends on the time of day too. In broad daylight they tend to be more like slits."

Jirou blinked. "You really are a cat, aren't you?"

Shrugging, Rei turned to the front of the class, All Might suddenly appearing in front of them and launching quickly into a greeting and explanation of what they were about to face for class. She forgot that her eyes could do that sometimes, it happening so quickly it was natural for her. The first time Reina had seen her do it was when Rei had first set her sights on a chocolate croissant at the bakery, freaking her mentor out and making her panic slightly that Rei had suddenly been possessed.

To be honest, it was a little amusing. Being possessed by a bakery demon? Reina did have a wild imagination sometimes.

"It's been a while, all you boys and girls!" With his traditional smile, All Might placed his hands on his hips. "So, for today's basic training, since you've all recently gotten back from your internships, we'll have some fun with a rescue training race!"

Immediately Iida's hand shot up in the air. "If we're doing rescue training, shouldn't we be at USJ?"

"That place is for training for disasters. Do you remember what I said! Right! It's a race!"

Motioning for the class to follow him, they began the trek into Field Gamma. Rei was absorbed with looking at her surroundings, getting more and more excited while taking note of the buildings. For the most part they all looked like metal, although they were in various states and conditions. Some looked fairly new, the metal shining and gleaming in the light, while others looked slightly rusted and about to give with the slightest shift in the wind. If this was a race, Rei would need to watch her step and be on guard at all times. Speed was important, but reaction time and recovery would also be key to winning a race in this place.

"So you'll be broken into teams of four, with one group of five. You'll go through the training one group at a time. When I send out the distress signal from somewhere inside, you'll all start at the outskirts of the city. It's a race to see who rescues me first!" He raised a finger into the air as he continued, eventually landing on Bakugou in particular. "Of course, you'll have to keep damage to the buildings at a minimum."

The blonde boy grumbled, a few people snickering at his being called out. Rei's lips twitched, although she tried not to look in the boy's direction. She needed to focus, not to stare at Mr. Grumpy Pants over on the side.

The first group consisted of Sero, Ashido, Ojiro, Iida, and Midoriya, the group of five going first. Everyone settled onto a rooftop with a projection to watch the race, various cameras following each individual as they began to warm up. The rest of the class watching began to talk amongst themselves, each wondering exactly who would come out on top.

"Iida-kun is still injured, isn't he? He should just sit out." Kaminari complained, sitting on the ground as he stared up at the screen. Rei had to agree with the blonde boy; she knew that Iida wasn't one to hold back, constantly striving to do his best. Would he be mindful of his limits, or would he push himself beyond? This certainly wasn't the best time to go "plus ultra."

Kirishima sat next to him. "Yeah, and this group is filled with people with great mobility."

Yaoyorozu hummed in thought as she sat next to Rei, looking at the screen in contemplation as it continued to flash between their peers. "Midoriya might be at a slight disadvantage, compared to everyone else."

"That's true," Jirou chimed in. "Honestly I'm still not quite sure how good he is."

Rei simply blinked. As the camera flashed back to Midoriya, she looked carefully at his face. It seemed as though he had a definite plan, a look of confidence and concentration taking over. He didn't appear to show any signs of doubt or apprehension at the test, leading Rei to believe that he had something up his sleeve. But what was it? Did he think it was good enough to go against those in his group?

"Well, who do you think will win?" Kirishima looked around at the class. "I think Sero will be first!"

As the rest of the class began to place their bets, Rei simply laid down on the ground, starting to stretch her legs out as her mind began to wander. She had been placed in group two, going against Tsuyu, Uraraka, and Aoyama. Of her three competitors, Rei knew that Tsuyu would be her biggest threat in terms of overall ability to navigate through space. She was the most adept at using her quirk, and she would most likely hop over the top of Field Gamma to get to their destination. Still, she tended to stop her momentum every so often, more careful of where she stepped than how fast she moved around. Although Rei knew that some of the buildings had a small chance of shifting or breaking, she had enough confidence in herself from her brief training with Chirasaki.

_Akatsuki, you need to learn to soften your landing. _

She had done just that, and even though she wasn't as soft as even Chirasaki was yet she was confident that her chances of crashing through the course from high heights had been reduced. The next biggest threat had to be Aoyama, what with the way he could soar through the air with his laser beam. But he frankly didn't compare to Tsuyu, what with the way he cramped up from using his quirk after a short time. Uraraka was also fairly good, but she couldn't be forced to use her quirk on herself too much, otherwise she would get sick. Uraraka was the most likely to take a ground route, leaving the other three to sail the skies.

There was a chance she could win. She would just have to believe in herself and her training.

"Whaaat?! Midoriya?!"

Propping her head up from the ground, Rei watched in surprise as the camera honed in on Midoriya. Green electricity sparked around his body as he lithely jumped through the field like a cake walk. The longer he appeared on screen, the more his moves looked familiar. It was a lot like how she jumped through the air, somersaulting and adding tricks to speed up her momentum, but at the core-

It was definitely reminiscent of Bakugou.

Rei grinned. She hadn't seen him fight Stain, but everything was starting to make sense. Before he would crumple and injure himself after using his quirk even slightly. But now he was demonstrating an impressive mastery, a new trick up his sleeve that would surely spur him forward. If only he had used something like this during the sports tournament, he surely would have-

He slipped.

Leaning back onto the ground, Rei began stretching out her other leg, going back to her internal thoughts as the rest of the class groaned and cheered for their peers. The final horn sounded, and Rei knew it was over. Poor Midoriya. But the revelation that the boy had definitely been up to something during his internship, had definitely gathered a few tricks to hide up his sleeve, made Rei settle back comfortably. It mattered little that he didn't win this race. What mattered was that he was taking near immeasurable strides to keep up with the class. Now that he was beginning to demonstrate true mastery over his quirk without demolishing himself every time, what sorts of limits would they discover now?

But Rei wasn't about to let thoughts of Midoriya's newest revelation cloud her mind. It was her turn to show what she had learned over the past week. Perhaps it wasn't anything as impressive as the gentle, green haired boy, and perhaps it was rather lousy since she had technically been taking it easy since her admission from the hospital, but Rei had learned a few things as well. Rolling up from the ground she stretched out her neck, tilting it from side to side and rolling it in circles, ready to get going.

"Group one, you may leave the field. Group two, get ready!"

"Good luck, Tsuki-chan!"

Rei nodded, giving Momo a small smile. "Right."

Her placement was similar to Midoriya's, standing aloft on a small water tower that placed her at a sort of middle ground. Jumping up and down to warm her calves up she calmed her mind. This was just like Hosu City, like when she ran the gauntlets with Chirasaki. But now she had a few things to prove: keep up the speed, and watch the landings to soften them…

The buzzer rang out, and Rei burst into the air.

Her first leap into sent her sailing into the skies, easily clearing the metal jungle as she rolled over a railing and used her momentum to pull herself back up to her feet and carry her forward. She sprinted as fast as she could, controlling her breath as she went along. Compared to Chirasaki's runs this would be a breeze; if she could survive two hour long runs in a high urban environment then she could probably do this run here blindfolded. She watched her downward momentum, carefully shifting her weight in order to lighten her impacts and boost herself up and forward more quickly. Up and over pipelines she ran along thin wiry edges, straight drops with no assistance to balance her, the maw below her feet threatening to swallow her whole with one misstep, but her eyes were only turned forward toward the prize. Balance was no issue here. She could do this easily.

In the distance she could hear Aoyama's telltale naval laser along with his grunts as he tried to keep up, pushing himself to go as much as he could while bearing the brunt of his cramping. She couldn't quite tell where the other two were, but she wasn't interested. It didn't seem like any of them were incredibly close to her either, what with the way Aoyama's noises were slowly becoming more distant. All she had to do was focus on getting to All Might.

She could win.

No, she would win.

The final stretch came. Their teacher was standing on a circular platform, just about five hundred meters ahead. Gritting her teeth and jumping high into the skies she skipped over other pipes and weaved between the various metal pieces sticking up in her path, using them to proper herself forward even faster. She was going to come in hot with this one. With one final effort she pushed off as hard as she could, aiming more forward than up into the air as she sprung out. It was like the fifty meter dash at the beginning of the term, only this time, she knew what she was doing.

She was going to make it. Hands outstretched, she snagged the balcony railing, twisting in the air as she somersaulted and landing on the ground in a crouch. Much to her satisfaction, the ground only trembled slightly at her impact, not shattering or cracking in the slightest. With a grin she jogged forward the final few steps, coming to stand before All Might and placing her hands on her hips.

"Young Akatsuki! Well done. And you're in tip top shape." He noted the way that she held herself up straight, barely out of breath even from all the exertion. Inhaling deeply Rei sighed in satisfaction. She had done it, and in record time. About fifteen seconds later Tsuyu pulled herself up over the balcony, blinking in surprise as she saw Rei already standing.

"Kero?"

Not long after Uraraka and Aoyama also made their appearances, a little more out of breath and out of shape as they panted, Aoyama clutching his gut as he shivered. But All Might simply smiled, handing a handmade sash to Rei. "Congratulations, Young Akatsuki! And good work, all the rest of you. You're showing much improvement from even a few weeks ago. Keep up the good work."

"Yes, All Might sensei!"

Chorusing together, they finally relaxed as their teacher dismissed them. Rei hopped back up onto the balcony, breathing in with a serene look on her face as she looked out at Field Gamma. Another test, another day, another win. Taking off into the air and leaving her classmates in the dust, she took her time and a longer route on her way back to the makeshift waiting room, soaring through the air and adding aerials for fun, practicing her moves.

What was the point in coming out here to this place if Rei couldn't let loose just a touch?

It may have been somewhat petty, but Rei had wanted to win this race badly. After tasting defeat at the sports festival, another fire had been lit underneath her. Seeing as how her classmates were constantly fighting and pushing themselves to be better, it now seemed as though they were beginning to rub off on her as well. She had wanted this win here, no matter how meaningless it was. Victory, no matter where it was, tasted sweet. Second place or anything less wouldn't satisfy her any longer, no matter what she told herself.

Landing on a particularly high rooftop, she grinned as she ran off the edge. With a whoop she tucked her legs up, sending her momentum backwards over her head as she did a backflip in the air, relishing in the airtime before landing on a lower roof below. She was almost back to the rest of the class, but she wanted to have at least a little bit of fun before she was forced to sit down. It was rare that she was able to run like this through a jungle, simply showing off what she could do and enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing past her face and ruffling her hair.

This was what she loved, more than anything. The freedom to fly.

She had taken the long way around, making her the last to return back to the waiting room. Receiving congratulations from her class she made her way back to Momo, who greeted her with a smile. "Congratulations. You looked good."

"Akatsuki-san, you looked so cool!" Jirou scooted a little closer to form a trio with them, much to Rei's surprise. She scratched the back of her head sheepishly at the attention.

"Thanks. Still, I'm a bit out of it from my internship. There were a couple landings that could have been a little softer."

As the two of them began to dissect and break down the race, Rei drifted off slightly, looking around the class. Raising her gaze, she finally saw Bakugou, standing at the back of the group moodily. Almost as soon as she found him red eyes turned to meet her, the two of them locking in a gaze. Rei blinked, a bit unsure of what to do. He simply scoffed and turned his head away, but she hadn't missed the small nod of affirmation. Had he given her his own way of approval?

It put a small smile on her face again. She couldn't help it.

"Ehh? Akatsuki, why are you smiling?"

Rei blinked. "Nothing!"

No one commented.

* * *

With June's final arrival came the promise of summer, cicadas and other bugs chirruping in the air loudly. Winter uniforms were finally discarded for the white, short sleeved dress shirt, much to Rei's disappointment.

She loved winter clothes, mostly because of the fact that she got to bundle up. There was nothing like the sensation of wearing layers upon layers, fashionable scarves and sweaters her most favorite thing in the world. But who was she to control the weather and make such demands? Trading her leggings for knee high socks, she sadly parted from her thicker clothes.

Summer was hot and dreadful, and it made her sluggish.

She hated it.

She was about to hate it more.

"Well, it's almost time for summer vacation," Aizawa began at the start of homeroom. Everyone looked up in expectation, knowing that something was coming, what with the way he had started speaking. "But of course, it wouldn't make sense for you to rest up for an entire month."

It was logical enough. Rei leaned forward on her desk, eyes trained on her teacher. Just what was he going to propose?

"During summer vacation, we're going to have a training camp in the woods."

The class burst into cheers, excited at the prospects. As each person began to cheer and talk about their expectations and favorite things, Yaoyorozu approached it with a more logical route. "If we're out in nature, we'll have to work under different conditions, right?"

"Bugs."

Yaoyorozu and Todoroki both turned around in their seats to look at Rei. She was blankly staring at her desk, hands clenched into fists. "Nature… means… bugs…"

Momo chuckled at Rei's dramatic antics, although it seemed impossible to get Rei to think about anything else. There was a dark aura about the girl, a testament to the actual horror and fear she had inside. "You really don't like bugs… do you?"

"I hate them." Her voice was deadpan, a sharp contrast to the rest of the class, who had exploded into balls of energy and excitement. Ashido in particular was loudly cheering, jumping up from her seat.

"_However._"

The class went dead silent in an instant, Aizawa's quirk snapping their attention up and immediately instilling a sense of fear in the more loud students. "Those who do not pass the final exam before that will be in summer school hell."

Silence. Then Kirishima turned around in his seat to look at everyone behind him. "Everyone! Let's do our best!"

As Aizawa moved away from the podium, Rei slumped in her seat, slamming her face into the desk as she moped. "Can I elect to not go?"

She hated bugs.

She was certain she was going to hate whatever was up ahead.

* * *

_**Reinananana (9:45 AM)  
**__I'm going off on a small business trip today  
__Dad wants me in Tokyo, so I'll be back in three days!  
__Don't get into too much trouble without me!  
__xoxoxo_

_**Kuramam-ei (4:45 PM)  
**__Travel safe  
__When do I ever?  
__Love you too, get back soon_

With a sigh Rei tucked her phone back into her pocket, walking through the streets to get back to the orphanage. She was still upset about the sudden announcement of the camping trip in August; it was apparently mandatory, and the only way anyone was getting out was by failing their exams. Rei wasn't so desperate that she would intentionally fail; the idea of intentionally failing made her sick. Who would dare do that, especially at a school like U.A.?

Grades, unfortunately, came before escaping bugs.

She hadn't bothered giving a look at the packet they had received for their guardians, containing information, procedures, and a list of items that they would need to bring with them. Instead she aggressively shoved it into her bag, not even sparing a second glance once it got into her hands. That was a problem for later Rei; immediate, present moment Rei was going to get a snack and do homework, and try to think of another good idea to get out of the trip.

Rei liked to think that her gut feelings were always right. As she was walking to school, she had a feeling that something was going to go wrong. At first it was easy to dismiss her bad luck as being the announcement of a camping trip in the woods, knowing her hatred of bugs and how inevitable it would be that she would be around nature in its fullest, buzzing, sickening, glory. But once she and Momo parted at the subway station the feeling had returned full force. Or perhaps it had never left, simply simmering down low until she was able to think clearly after her head had been crammed with information during school hours.

The feeling had returned. Something was seriously wrong, and it made the looming threat of bugs look like a child's petty tantrum.

It was when she made it to the front gate of the orphanage she knew that something was wrong.

The front yard was silent. Rei slid through the creaking outer gate, eyes scanning her surroundings suspiciously. Normally she was the last one back during the day, since she had to travel the furthest for school now that she was at U.A.. The younger once were always playing in the front yard, their little shrieks floating in the air. It was perfect weather for such playtime, with the sun high in the sky and a small breeze pushing down the street every so often. But there was none of that here.

Even the house was quiet from the outside, signaling the fact that the children were nowhere in sight, or they were oddly quiet. A weight pressed down upon the house, and immediately Rei was unsettled. Slipping through the front door, she called out a greeting softly, only to be met with relative silence and the shuffling of feet in the dining room and kitchen.

Golden eyes narrowed. Something was definitely amiss.

Walking through the house, she followed her ears to where subdued voices were talking in hushed tones. She could hear Urahara and another one of the workers whispering about something, although none of it made sense, too quiet and rapid to understand at the distance she was at. The severity made her soften her footsteps instinctually, as though skulking around somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. Peering around the corner into the dining room she stuck her head into the doorway, looking into the space. Almost exactly as she had guessed, the orphanage's director and three other workers were sitting along the table, huddled together. Urahara noticed Rei's presence first, sitting up straight and beckoning the young girl in with a hand gesture..

"What's going on?" Rei walked up to the group, pulling out a chair and setting her bag down on the ground. All of them looked at one another, unsure of who was to speak first. In the end, it was Urahara.

"Rei," she began, but her eyes drifted to the other women in the room.

Immediately Rei was suspicious. She placed her hands on the table, leaning forward so that she could look at every person. "What is it?" Golden eyes were sharp, but she softened her voice as to not intimidate the others. She needed to know what was wrong, wanted to know what was going on, why the children were silent and what was making Urahara so hesitant to speak to her.

The older woman sighed. It was the first time that Rei could truly see how old she was, the weathered lines on her face standing out in the mixture of afternoon and fluorescent lighting. Urahara had been around longer than Rei could even remember, before Miss Yuuka had come and had weathered the storms long after the younger woman had suddenly left. Urahara rubbed her eyes, clearly exhausted from handling whatever it was that was on her shoulders. Turning to face Rei properly, she cleared her throat.

"Mr. Katsubara has been... convicted… of certain crimes."

Growling, Rei's hands clenched. She had to force herself to keep her nails retracted, almost shooting them out instinctively at the news, something Urahara had yelled at her for doing when she was younger and had sunk them into the dining room table. But this news was…

Rei relaxed her hands. Of any news she could have received, she had practically seen it coming.

She had known. All the girls had known, especially the older ones. The rumors were rumors for a reason; they had started with a base truth. That was how things began, no matter how exaggerated and out of proportion they eventually became, spiraling into a sensational story that was somehow believable and over the top. But the rumors about the true nature of the owner of the orphanage hadn't ever deviated too far from the truth.

Urahara didn't need to go into details. But now that it was out in the open…

Scoffing, Rei looked to the side. She could restrain herself enough. "Serves him right."

"But that's not all."

Urahara continued, clearly steeling herself and trying to remain the rock of resolve among the others in the room. The other women were crying, tears running down their faces as they tried to stifle their sniffs and hiccups. "Before they could arrest him he escaped. He came here and stole the rest of the funds that we had for operations."

"_What?_" Rei was almost vibrating with anger now, her pupils slatted dangerously as she bared her teeth. "That bastard…"

"Apparently, he's had a warrant out for him for a while. Because of the misappropriation of funds, the government is shutting us down."

Rei blinked. "Shutting… us down?"

Urahara handed her a letter, Rei snatching it and pouring over the words. All of it, word for word, listed there in front of her here in crisp black ink that was all too informal and impartial. The director clasped her hands, trying to keep it together. But even Rei could see how her throat had tightened, the way that she shook ever so slightly. It was unnerving her, to see the rock and foundation of this place so shaken.

"All the children will be taken in by surrounding districts. They've already begun relocating. As a high school student you have a choice; you can be relocated, or you can leave the system and find a place." At this point her words were beginning to rush from the overwhelming tide of emotion that she was trying to hold back, but she continued to barrel forward, determined to get all the information out in one go. "I know you just started at U.A., and you shouldn't leave them just because of this, but…"

"Why?!" Rei slammed her fists on the table, everyone jerking away at the sudden display of anger. "Why do we have to suffer, when it's that bastard's fault? Why do we have to pay for it?!" But she couldn't use anger as a cover any longer, standing up from her seat as the tears streamed down. "Why… the kids don't deserve this. We just have over a month before the term ends…"

She could handle the news. She was the odd one out anyway; she was the oldest kid at the orphanage now, all the other high school level kids dropping out and finding their way in the world. She could handle the change. She had to; if she couldn't, who else among the kids would? But all the young ones, especially the ones who were so close to finishing middle school, suddenly having to transfer at the beginning of their final year…

It wasn't fair.

None of this was fair.

But then again, she had been living in a dream. She had been accepted to the best hero academy in the nation. She was surrounded by those who were privileged enough in life to be unable to understand Rei's struggle, and somewhere along those lines she had blended in with the supposed norm. She began to believe that she belonged with them, that she could catch up with her peers. Living in the ultimate fantasy, surrounded by peers who were blessed and only accepted Rei as one of them, all of it had her thinking that she had finally made it. Every day she had spent at U.A. had further convinced her that life was finally looking up, and that things were going to be alright from here on out.

In the end, she had forgotten that life wasn't fair, and those at the bottom always got shafted when the time came. That was how it was for her, for the ragged orphans who scraped the bottom of the bowl.

She had been running over the rug, only to make it to the edge before it was ripped out from under her feet, sending her sprawling into the floor.

Life wasn't fair.

The prestige revealed itself in all its glory, a desolate future awaiting.

Urahara removed her glasses, setting them on the table. The bags under her eyes were even more visible, the stress and anxiety of the situation weighing her down.

"Whatever your decision, we will support it. As we always have."

Gold lifted to meet a chorus of empathetic stares, her chest weighed down with pain.

"You have two weeks."

* * *

**Writing Workshop (as promised)**

This isn't a part of the story, but I've had a couple people ask me for tips now about writing. So, here's a fun FAQ about writing, my style, and the process thus far for this story.

[ironic that while I'm writing this, I'm procrastinating writing an actual paper for class…]

I have so many thoughts on the topic of writing, I could literally teach a college course. But I'm going to do my best to keep this concise.

Seriously. What I've written below has been edited and scaled down about four times. I tried y'all.

We're going to start with (**1**) a preface for the information I'm gonna give, (**2**) overall writing ideas and tips, (**3**) concrete tips that I find useful, and then (**4**) some story insights for how I've been writing this story out.

* * *

**1) Preface**

Remember that there's no one way to get writing done. All the information I'm about to give you is what has worked for me. You have to find what works for you. For example, for me, I have to clean my desk, make myself a cup of tea, put on a comfy sweater, tie up my hair, and open the curtains in front of my desk. Literally. The concept of "Monkey Mind" (from Natalie Goldberg's _Writing Down the Bones_) is that your mind wants to do a million things that will distract you from writing. So do them. Get them out of your system. Then once you do, you'll be ready to write.

I have too many theory books about writing that I'd love to recommend. But I'm going to condense it to one book and one article that you can find with a quick Google search.

_Writing Down the Bones_ by Natalie Goldberg, as mentioned before. If you write professionally, casually, or just generally at all; whether you write fiction or non-fiction, you should own this book. I would not be the writer I am today AT ALL if I did not have this book. It's pretty cheap to buy, and it's a lifesaver. Literally. I've bought (and read) over 200 books over the course of two years, and this is one of the two I would save and recommend to people.

Harry Noden's Brushstrokes. A quick Google search will give you tons of hits (literally "Harry Noden brushstrokes"). There's five "brushstrokes" that are keys to writing literature that's lively, attention grabbing, and effective no matter the context. If I had to boil down my current writing style, this is the second piece of information that has influenced me.

Want me to boil it down even more?

Here's the two things you need to comprehensively understand when writing:

genre and rhetorical grammar

If you understand genre, then you can write anything. Fiction, nonfiction, newspaper articles, political speeches, plays, film scripts, Buzzfeed articles: all of these are genres. They come with conventions (e.g. in a newspaper article title, commas stand in for the word "and"), and if you understand how to use them, you can write (or as I like to say, "imitate") any style. I'll explain more later.

And finally, grammar. Yecchh. I know. But if you understand grammatical conventions, you understand how to make effective sentences. This is why I recommend reading Noden's Brushstrokes; it's the best single source for covering the creation of effective sentences. Is it all encompassing? No. But it's the closest that you can get, and it's also free, so start with that.

* * *

**2) Overall Writing Tips**

I have three things. That's it. (Look, I'm trying to keep it simple.)

**First: Write. And Write a lot.**

Set a writing goal: mine is 1,000 words per week.

You might be thinking, "badtzumaru, you said yourself that you wrote like 30,000 in two days. Isn't 1,000 words not a lot?"

Yeah, well I also have depression and a slew of other things like school and a job, so even writing 30k in a week isn't always realistic. Also, 1,000 words can be broken up over a few days to make it more manageable; you could keep a daily journal and stick to 150 words a day. What you write about doesn't matter. Just keep writing. A thousand words a week is manageable. Then, if you find it's easy enough, bump it up. Consistency is key.

Also, try this exercise of practice writing without stopping or deleting/ editing. Time yourself for 5 minutes and try to keep your fingers moving on the keyboard or your pen moving at all times. Don't delete. Don't stop. If you have to keep writing, "I don't know what to write" over and over again until you think of something, then that's what you do. It's a good practice in throwing out ideas onto a page and just getting stuff out of your system. Honestly, doing that for a year is probably the reason why I can crank out about 8k words in one sitting.

**Second: Read.**

Read fiction. Read non fiction. Read newspaper articles. Read scientific abstracts. Read fanfiction. Read Shakespeare. Read anything you can get your hands on. Just make sure you're getting a diversity of literature (don't just read stuff from recent years either; test your skills and read books like Frankenstein or others as well).

Want a challenge? Here's the truth: I learned the most about writing from reading both Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury and Absalom, Absalom!. If you can read those with 30% comprehension of the plot, then you can do just about anything short of challenging God herself.

In all seriousness, reading exposes you to different styles. You pick up on things that you can incorporate into your own style. Read challenging books (I recommend 1900s American literature because that stuff i D), because that's how you learn best.

**Third: Understand grammatical conventions.**

No one needs me to go on and on about how language is a human construct and therefore imperfect (seriously, don't ask me. I can go on for hours about that stuff). But understanding grammar is important. If you aren't writing cohesively and readers are constantly bumping over inconsistencies or strange wordings, it detracts from the reading experience.

Key things to focus on?

Establish if you're in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person (and if you're in present or past tense) and stick with it. I tend to choose 3rd person omniscient and the past tense because it's actually one of the most common and I have an easy time emulating it. It's also easy to read. If you're going to change the POV, make it clear with a line/ page break, etc. Again, conventions. Rules can be broken. Conventions are the bumpers on bowling lanes. Once you know how to use them, you don't need them anymore. But you have to prove first that you know them.

Also, spell and grammar check. Use that.

* * *

**3) Practical Writing Tips that I find useful and use on the daily**

**First: Outlines, Outlines, Outlines**

I'm a detailed planner. So I throw everything into one cohesive outline before I start writing. I write character details, and I write basic plot details so I know where to go. This is useful because when I go to write a chapter, I take a look at where I've been, what I need to to, and where I need to be. Then, I just write. If I end up deviating from the outline and I like it, then I change the outline and rescaffold. This keeps me on track. Of course, not everyone uses outlines and that's fine! I just find them handy.

Also, I keep a Google Doc with tidbits that I write on the fly: eye and hair color, small events that are important for referencing later (e.g. the first time Rei laughs, I make a note so that I don't have to redo that later and have people yelling at me that I've already done that lol ripppp).

**Second: Don't delete.**

There comes an inevitable chapter where I just can't figure out where to go. Then a couple days later, I figure out what I want to do. DO NOT DELETE WHAT YOU'VE WRITTEN. Go to the next page and start over. Leave what you've done. Then, after you're certain that you're ready to move on to the editing stage, go and erase.

Sometimes, what you've written is actually good and later you decide that you want it to go somewhere else. No joke, I had a Google Doc at one point filled with pages that I had "deleted" from the main story but later I decided that I wanted them back. Thank god I didn't have to rewrite them.

**Third: Brushstrokes**

Change up that sweet, sweet, sentence structure. Tired of your "noun + verb + direct object?" Throw in some participles! Varying sentence structure is key if you want to keep your audience's attention. Write a long sentence, something that has a lot of character and description that flows like a river, dragging things on for a period of time while keeping your reader interested. Then, keep it short. Variety is key (and also good for comedic timing).

**Fourth: Small Scale Editing**

When I edit, I read each sentence out aloud. Yeah, no, not loud enough that my landlady can hear me talking to myself like the crazy person I am. I do it in a whisper. If you can read the sentence aloud and it makes sense, then chances are that your reader won't trip up over it either. If it sounds awkward, then change it! This is especially important when you use lengthy sentences. If it goes on and on without ever getting to the point… chop it up.

**Fifth: Get up**

Get up. Go to the kitchen. Make another cup of tea. Grab a snack. Stretch and touch your toes. Lay on the ground for thirty seconds (and maybe take a nap, who knows?) Get out of that chair and get out of your headspace. Get some space.

**Sixth: But know when to sit your ass down and grind it out**

This is the one I'm working on. Sometimes I'm just not feeling the story, so I take a break. Breaktime turns into, "Oh no, I haven't touched this story for a month and I'm no longer interested!"

Sometimes, you have to force yourself to write. Even if it's trash. But remember, it's better to go back and edit trash than a blank page. You can't do anything with a blank page (except maybe make some origami)

* * *

**Have I lost you yet?**

**Tl:dr writing is hard, but have some tips and remember that your style and your schedule is something that you have to figure out for yourself**

**Anyway, here's some insight on how I've written the story thus far:**

When I start stories, I usually start with the label: (name of show/ game/ etc.) + (number of fics I've written about this already) + "test"

So when I started this one, I literally called it "BNHA 3 Test."

Yeah, it's that boring and blase sounding.

But this is so I can decide if I like where this story is going, and if I want to include this chapter later. Fun fact, the actual test article I wrote ended up being the basis for Chapter 10, even though I technically wrote it first.

Honestly, this story was a struggle. I wasn't sure how I felt about the test chapter I wrote, but I liked the character. I also didn't want to write out a lot of backstory before getting to the actual timeline, because I knew I would lose interest fast. So I compromised, using a sort of "in media res" and starting with the first day of class so that I could actually start getting some traction for myself. I decided then to start filling in the story as I went, adding snippets at the beginning of each chapter that would also tie into what the present day would hold for Rei. I ended up being able to tie in the past pieces with the present day pieces without too much of a problem, so that's how I decided to move forward.

It ended up working.

At the beginning, my vision and general concept was this: two friends, one of which is destined to become a hero. But once she dies, the other must take her place and rise to the occasion. Rei was never meant to become the hero, so she's this gritty, angry, and frustrated character that has to fill the shoes that Haru left, knowing full well that she isn't nor ever will be the person that Haru was. It's about the sort of conflict of "learning where you belong in the world" versus "carving your own path and forcing yourself into the world."

It was after I decided to add Reina as a major character that I actually began scaffolding for the rest of the story (at least up until where the anime has currently left off). Reina was supposed to die permanently. But after toying with that idea, I found I didn't like it. I didn't want Rei to be completely isolated at U.A., so I kept Reina around, instead making it so she was in a coma and wakes up later. It was after that that I began to get more ideas; I don't like introducing a million OC characters (because that's a lot of effort to track them all), but as a reader I also hated when people suddenly throw like five characters in at once. This way, the introduction of characters has slowly progressed; first Rei, then Haru, then Reina, then eventually Chirasaki.

I also had a tough decision to make concerning the people Rei would befriend. I decided on Yaoyorozu first, in order to juxtapose the scene where the rich kids pushed Haru with the scene where this rich girl saves Rei. Lots of layering to consider, and let me tell you; if you see that something in this story has a mirror (especially in the past memories and present memories), that was intentional, and I'm damn proud I figured that all out.

But now, where do I go from here?

If you couldn't tell, I'm shipping that Rei x Bakugou. Originally, the pairing was actually going to be with Todoroki. But I wanted to write a character with attitude, a little more street smart and snarky than most of the characters in the class. And that just pointed to little Mr. Lord Explosion Murder himself.

I want to make this clear: I don't know how the pairings will turn out exactly yet. They're fifteen. And yeah, there's hormones. But I also think that while there are crushes, there's nothing serious going on here yet (relationships in my high school were barely serious as was until like, maybe 11th grade when puberty slapped everyone in the face? before then if you were a couple it was like… yeah okay whatever you're "together" but it didn't really mean anything until you were at least an upperclassman, and even that was tentative). I don't know that I'd have any of the characters date any time soon. It's too soon to tell. So while eventually I will be pushing for a pairing, it's not going to be super serious any time soon.

I don't want to say I like to write realistically all the time, but there are some things that I just can't bring myself to write about fantastically.

Another inspiration; music really gets me going. To be honest, I'd had the Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse soundtrack on repeat, so the one song that really got me thinking was "What's up Danger". I have a playlist of various songs that can put me in the mood to write too, so that's been a big help.

Anyway, that's all I have for now. Hit me up if you have any questions or want me to follow up on something!

* * *

**Actual AN:** Update from me. I haven't been feeling too well, so that's why it's been about a week since I've updated. I might be a bit slow over the next few weeks, but I promise that I've been slowly working on the next few chapters. I'm dedicated to catching up with the series concerning this fic, and to seeing it through.

**Thank you for the reviews...**

**dragontamer64**: The curse of fick is an art form at this point hahahaha! I hope that the writing tips have helped; please feel free to PM me if you have any more questions that I might be able to answer!

**CrescentNightshade**: Thank you! I've tried my best to make sure that the characters stay in character as much as possible; I fear that sometimes (especially going into the future) they might get slightly out of character, but I am doing my best to ensure that things run smoothly. I'm so happy you find that Rei blends in with the class though! That makes me really happy :D

**Have a question for me? Any ideas for future special episodes? Leave a review and let me know!**


	16. To Those Who Ask

Chapter 16

To Those Who Ask

* * *

_"You have two weeks."_

The deadline hung over her head as Rei trudged to school, her steps weighed down by what felt like heavy weights or rocks tied to her ankles. Dread. Anxiety. The sensation that she was about to fall asleep on her feet as she rode the train to school. She had barely gotten any sleep during the night, constantly tossing and turning with what little sleep she did get that had been punctuated by nightmares, leaving her gasping for air and sweating with a sickness. By the time her alarm had gone off she had been lying awake for nearly twenty minutes, exhausted and anxious, making her even more groggy and irritable.

Why did it always seem like whenever she actually wanted to fall asleep, sleep never came for her? Why did it always evade her like she was plagued with some untouchable, undesirable, contagion?

The orphanage's inevitable close wasn't the only thing on her mind. After her conversation with Urahara, she hadn't wanted to give the camping packet over to their director. What was the point? Urahara wouldn't be around long enough to be concerned with a school trip in the summer, and neither could she be bothered about something so far in the future when there were children that needed her immediate attention. So instead Rei had read the packet over on her own and caved to deeper despair. The most gut dropping was the list of materials that would be needed, a majority of which she neither had nor had the funds to spare. The first order of business before she could even think about summer was how to secure housing as fast as possible while trying to balance her current school schedule and the need to study rigorously as the end of term approached. The weekend still four days away and desperately out of reach, making Rei even more apprehensive and despair filled.

For some reason Reina wasn't picking up either. Rei had sent her a text message asking her mentor to call her, but there had been no phone call last night or in the morning. She knew that Reina was in back to back business meetings and running around with her parents and management, but it was unlike her to withhold any sort of response or acknowledgement at all. The silence only isolated Rei even further, a hole in her heart named despair beginning to take hold as she stewed in silence and fear. By the time she made it to homeroom she was tired, cranky, hungry, and a ball of anxiety ready to explode.

Pushing her way into the classroom she slowly made her way to her seat. Yaoyorozu began to wave at her, but stopped at the bizarre look on Rei's face, immediately filling her friend with apprehension. "Tsuki-chan, are you…"

Plopping down into her seat, Rei dumped her bag onto the floor. "Is it obvious?"

Todoroki stared at her with concern. "You look like trash."

The cat quirk girl groaned, placing her arms on her desk and hiding her face. "I feel like trash."

Fortunately Aizawa had stepped into the room, everyone's attention turning forward and leaving Rei in the corner on her own. She propped her head up, still slouching in her seat as their teacher ran through some quick announcements and took role. Was she that late? Usually she had at least a few minutes to chat with Yaoyorozu, but there had been no time today. Not that Rei was in any mood to talk aimlessly with anyone at this point.

As Aizawa began taking attendance his eyes scanned the class to get a read on his students. They lingered on Rei for a moment longer than usual, but she didn't quite notice his scrutiny, too busy trying to cover her mouth with a hand and a ducked head to hide a yawn.

Black eyes narrowed.

"Akatsuki, see me at lunch."

"Eh?" Rei sat up straighter, confused at the call. Everyone else seemed surprised too, trying to shoot looks and crane their necks to see their golden eyed glassmate, but a flash of Aizawa's quirk and a sharp glare accompanied with a deadly aura had everyone focusing back up front in a heartbeat as Aizawa continued on, completely ignoring her as he powered through the roster and brought homeroom to a close. Before she could question him any further he had slipped out of the room, exchanging places with Present Mic as English began. Bewildered, Rei pulled out her notebook and pens as quickly as she could, her mind still trying to comprehend what was happening.

What was she in trouble for?

Nothing came to mind. Stumped, she continued to stumble through class as time forced her to bumble along to the daily schedule. Much to her fortune, none of the teachers seemed to call on her today, allowing her to attempt to force her own eyelids open and strain against the exhaustion that weighed her down. Todoroki shot occasional glances of concern at her as he ducked his head down discreetly, pretending he was stooped over his notes, but she waved them away, keeping her head down and focusing on her own notebook. She hid her frequent yawns behind her hand, ducking behind Yaoyorozu as she did as she tried to remain discrete and courteous to their teachers.

She had no idea how she survived the morning.

Any excitement she had about lunch finally rolling around the corner was immediately suppressed by her lingering dread at having to meet her homeroom teacher. Momo offered to walk with her, clearly concerned and a bit curious as to the sudden change in her friend's behavior, but Rei only waved her friend away, telling her to save her a seat at lunch and that she would be down later. The brilliant creator could only look on in concern as Rei stalked away, shoulders slightly hunched and neck craning forward under an invisible pressure as she walked down the hallway and out of sight.

It was the first time she had been called in to a meeting at U.A., although she wasn't a stranger to meetings with administration in the past. Heavens knew how many times she had been sent off to the principal's office back in elementary and middle school, for a slew of problems that she couldn't be bothered to attempt to even organize in a coherent fashion. She was accustomed to being the victim of blame, learning from an early age how to roll her shoulders back and defend herself in stride, even though everyone leered down at her in disbelief. Having a violent track record never really helped, even when she hadn't been the instigator in the majority of her cases. Still, it was strange this time now that she was at U.A., knowing that she hadn't done anything to warrant any sort of discipline that she had experienced in the past; she hadn't punched anyone, or egged them on in a fight. In fact she wasn't really aggressive with anyone here. Being sent to talk with a teacher suddenly felt foreign, and she didn't like it one bit.

That aside, this was U.A., and she had been determined to start anew. She couldn't afford to start a bad track record now. What was she going to be in trouble for, and how could she explain?

Slipping into the teachers' office, she snuck around the perimeter until she made her way to Aizawa's desk. He immediately saw her, pointing to an empty chair near his desk while he continued to shuffle papers around the small surface, organizing them in neat piles that had no immediately discernible order. Taking a seat on the swiveling chair she planted her feet firmly on the ground, but began wavering between sitting up straight and leaning back in the chair. Half of her wanted to show that she was alert and receptive to whatever her homeroom teacher was about to say, while the other half of her knew it was a complete lie that neither of them would buy. Eventually she settled on placing her palms on her knees, leaning forward in attentiveness so that she was less tempted to fall asleep in her seat. If she sank back into the chair she was liable to get even more sleepy and risk something embarrassing happening in front of her teacher. Stifling another yawn, she shook her head quickly in an attempt to clear the fog. "What am I here for?"

"You're sloppy today, Akatsuki."

Blunt, and to the point. Rei winced at the accusation. Aizawa continued, multitasking in his lecture as he continued to reorder a new stack of papers in his hands, pulling some sheets out and reorganizing them. Black eyes were focused on his task, but Rei knew better than to assume that less than half his attention was on her. "We expect that you give everything your all, and that doesn't include showing up to class half asleep on your feet."

"Sorry. It won't happen again."

He scoffed. It was clear that he didn't buy it, not for one second. "Tell me what's wrong."

"Huh?"

Giving the papers one final jostle, he smoothed them out as he placed them on the desk with a dull thud. Turning in his chair to look at her, he crossed his arms over his chest, his full attention now on his young student. It hadn't been a question, more of a demand that she answer. "What's going on. Something's obviously going on."

Rei looked down at her hands. "Sorry, sir, but it's just personal. I don't think you'd be able to help-"

"Whether or not I can help is to be determined. Your performance is disheartening, and if something needs to change then you need to tell me. U.A. won't accept anything less than your best."

She flinched at the harsh reprimand. Golden eyes looked around the room, wary and suspicious of the other teachers that were clearly trying to not to pay attention to their conversation. It was difficult due to the lack of space, all the desks crammed together and leaving little room for privacy. No matter how softly the two of them spoke, no matter how much white noise and general office sounds were generated within the space, there was no denying that strangers were privy to the personal matters of Rei's life in this moment.

It was embarrassing.

Rei's hands clenched her skirt in frustration.

"I… I'm losing my home, sir."

Her admission had been unexpected, Aizawa straightening his posture both from her sudden confession and from the content. He had been expecting at least a little more resistance, but she had managed to catch him off guard. But the shame was getting to her, Rei managing to look everywhere but his face as her her own expression turned downward in an attempt to escape. "The orphanage is getting shut down. I have two weeks to find housing, but I don't have enough money for long. I won't have anything left for the school trip either."

As the seconds passed she began to fold in on herself, shutting down completely. It was embarrassing. More than that, it was utterly mortifying to have to tell her teacher her personal living situation, to admit it to anyone. And it was only made worse by the fact that all the teachers could basically hear, the humiliation only multiplying with every person that her eyes could spot from her peripherals. She hated it. Hated, hated, hated, and detested it with more than anything in her heart. She wanted to break down and cry, to storm out of the room and scream, to throw herself in the river. Anything, to escape the situation she was now in.

Why, why was it that she had to immediately spill her guts right after finding out? She was still trying to process everything for herself. Why couldn't she have told Reina first, have talked with someone who knew her and who would understand, who wouldn't treat her any less? Why did she have to stain herself in the eyes of her teacher?

Silence fell between the two of them. Rei continued to stare at her hands. She couldn't make eye contact any longer. She felt defeated.

"Some of the trustees of our school decided to create an emergency fund for students."

Out of shock and surprise, Rei looked up. Aizawa was no longer looking at her, turning instead back to his desk. "Unfortunately it never gets used, since most people don't know about it." He dug through stacks of paper for a moment before pulling a sheet out, turning and handing it to Rei. As she grasped delicately in her fingers it he turned back to his desk. "Fill it out and give it back to me by the end of the day. You're dismissed."

She held the paper delicately between her fingertips, as though she was fearful that grasping it too harshly would result in the document crumbling between her fingertips. Hope. For the first time in a while, she felt hopeful. Thanking her homeroom teacher quickly and quietly she snuck out of the room, gently holding the paper to her chest as she brushed the tears away. This time as she left the room she didn't bother with caring about which teachers saw her leave. It was only after leaving the room that she moved against a random wall in the hallway, back pressed against the cool surface as she breathed in and out steadily.

It had happened so quickly. What had actually happened? After composing herself she looked back at the paper again, beginning to read the directions and prompts, familiarizing herself with what she needed to do. It was a fairly simple application process, and she was sure that she could complete it in between class periods, before Aizawa came by at the end of the day.

Hope. Aizawa-sensei had given her hope.

It wasn't enough to make her smile. No, there was too much that had happened in the past twenty-four hours that it would take a miracle to actually make her genuinely happy. Compared to the stress and the darkness that threatened to consume her, this was only a fragment of light that barely illuminated her path, giving her a sliver of sight in order that she could see her next step and what she had to do in order to begin climbing out of this pit. But it was a start, and deep inside her heart, Rei was thankful.

So absorbed in the paper in her hands and her swirling thoughts, she had opened the door to 1-A and stepped through without looking. If she had gotten a good night's sleep, if she had at least fifty percent of her senses about her, she would have avoided the collision. But instead she bumped into a muscular figure, giving her a heart attack at the sudden appearance of someone in her path. She gasped in surprise, looking up in shock at a familiar, snarling face.

"Oi, the hell's wrong with you?!"

Rei blinked, frozen in fear and panic before smoothing her face over into its cold and impassive mask. It was all too easy, too natural. Indifference was something she could wield to a masterful effect, something she could don in a moment's notice. Gold eyes stared up into fiery crimson in apathy, as though serenely judging her classmate for having the audacity to step into her path. "Nothing." Her voice was even, not a hint of the emotional rollercoaster that she found herself riding against her will. "I'm fine."

Bakugou scoffed, the sound much more vindictive and harsh than usual. "That's a fat lie. You look like you're ready to fall over from exhaustion!"

Irritated, she brushed past him, a scowl slowly forming on her face. She had tried to keep things cordial, but Bakugou seemed to be even more agitated than usual. Unfortunately, Rei wasn't in the mood for games now. All she wanted was to grab her lunch and meet with Momo, and perhaps catch a few minutes for a nap. The first thing she wanted was a quiet moment to herself, and the last was an irritable and fuming boy standing in her way. She spoke through gritted teeth, jaw set in lowly anger. "I said I'm fine."

A strong hand shot out, violently gripping her upper arm and shaking her, causing her to stumble a bit as she was jolted around. There was a bit of fear on her face as she looked up into red eyes that swirled with rage, but composure kicked in almost immediately, gold eyes staring up in a bored fashion as she guarded herself. "Don't fucking lie to me! Something's obviously wrong!"

But she couldn't fake the serenity for long. Something inside of her snapped. She had gone from embarrassment and humiliation to sadness, all the way to fear and shock. She had run an entire emotional gauntlet at this point, and she was exhausted to the core. Anger surged in her as she growled back into Bakugou's face. "Fuck. off. I don't have to tell you anything." Ripping her arm from his grasp she stormed off, walking quickly as she fumed. She could feel him stalking behind her, shouting in frustration.

"Why can't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"Because," she grit out, "I've experience enough humiliation for one day."

He barked out a laugh, standing over her as she pulled her lunch bag out from her belongings. "That's funny, you didn't seem to have a problem with that a few days ago."

Breathing in a slow breath, she tried to calm herself down. Her blood was boiling, anger threatening to rise. Why now, of all times? And why him? "Bakugou, you're really getting on my nerves."

"Just tell me what's wrong!"

"Why?" Standing up sharply, she whipped around, glaring daggers back at him. He had enough common sense to step back in shock, for the first time facing her full anger. There was no composure any longer, rage seething from her body. Where Bakugou tended to shout and act out in aggression, it was clear that Rei's anger was more like a gas leak, toxic fumes slowly moving around unnoticed until the moment where an unfortunate spark ignited and unleashed a maelstrom of havoc. Her voice continued to rise, escalating into a yell. She couldn't contain herself any longer. "Why do you care? What's wrong with you?!"

"You idiot! I'm worried about you!"

"Then stop being a prick and be nice for once in your life!"

Silence. Bakugou stared in shock. Eyes wide, it was clear that he had no words as he looked over Rei's entire figure, taking every piece of her in. Her eyes continued to rage, but every piece of her body looked as though she were a wild animal backed into a corner, somewhere between feeling lost and tensely coiled, prepared to strike. Chest heaving and stuttering as she tried to control her breath and even it out, it was clear that the seal had been broken.

There was no more control.

The tears fell, Rei unable to hold back any longer. She was tired and emotionally worn from the rollercoaster that had taken her up the highest heights and dropped her off the sharpest of cliffs, and Bakugou had done nothing but push her past her breaking point. The screws had come loose. The ride was in shambles. Her breath hitched even as she tried to control it, but her chest now heaved unevenly. She had broken.

"Why…" she started, voice cracking, "why can't you just drop the mask and be kind for once?"

It was clear he didn't have an answer. Red eyes were wide, Bakugou remaining frozen as she held her lunch close to her chest and walked out the classroom door, wiping the tears from her eyes with one hand. She hoped that he had enough common sense to not follow her. Taking the back route down the fire escape stairs in order to avoid as many people as possible, Rei made her way outside, sneaking through the campus to make it to the treeline.

She knew that Momo would be worried when she didn't show up for lunch. But Rei was too tired to care. She needed time alone to rebuild her walls, to refortify herself if she was to survive the afternoon. As soon as she made it into the forest surrounded the sports field she jumped up into a particularly large tree with a sturdy branch, far from view of the school building. She sat against the trunk and began unpacking her lunch in her lap, sniffling and trying to pull herself back together.

Lunch was mostly leftovers and whatever she had been able to throw together that morning in her exhausted stupor. Leftover katsu curry wasn't very good cold, but it was what she had grabbed first, and Rei was loathe to let any good food go to waste. Sitting in the shade on the warm afternoon, she felt herself slowly relaxing, bit by bit. With every bit of food she could feel herself recharging, and with every breath she could feel the tension draining from her core as she began recentering herself.

What was it about Bakugou that left her so perplexed all the time? One day he was borderline kind and gentle, and the next nosy and completely intolerable. Did he even realize how hot and cold he was? The thought of him and their most recent interaction had her trembling with anger, her rage coming back to her and flooding her senses. How dare he try to corner her, force her past the breaking point. Her true anger was something that she tried to hide, a part of her personality that she covered with layers of indifference and cold disdain instead in an attempt to smother than undesirable side. She had always been hot headed as a kid, but when Reina started mentoring her and she had realized that she wanted to be a hero, Rei had been desperate to put that side of hers to rest. Heroes were likable people, and no one wanted to work with brash and quick tempered individuals.

Come to think of it, wasn't that basically a description of Bakugou? Shaking her head, Rei scowled, chomping on her lunch harder than necessary. Everything came back to him. It infuriated her. She was so annoyed, so irritated…

But that was what made them similar. They both wore masks to hide themselves. It was only now that they were beginning to see past the facade, and now Rei was beginning to see how much of a contradiction she was living. She had come here to start anew, but she refused to get to know the people in her class, instead holding them at a distance. She had begun to accept the fact that she had a friend in Momo, but a piece of her continued to push the girl away.

She tried to dig to Bakugou's core in order to see exactly who he was, all the while insisting on keeping up her own walls and keeping others out, preventing them to see who she truly was.

She was confused and emotional. In that moment with Bakugou her judgement had clouded, and she had reacted harshly. This was why she tried to hold back, to maintain distance from people, to make sure that she kept herself level and even. It hurt. It hurt to expose her true nature, hurt to let people in and peel back the scabs and scars that she had thought had been healed and far removed from her life now. It hurt, knowing that she had said hurtful things to others.

Finishing her lunch, she pulled her knees up to her chest. She should apologize for acting in anger. It was the right thing to do, and if she wanted to become a better person and begin growing into a hero, she needed to put herself aside and become the bigger person. But there was a piece of her that was still bitter, that wasn't ready to let this go. She would hold off for now, even if clutching that piece of darkness was toxic. Just a little while longer.

She wasn't perfect, and she wasn't about to start pretending that she was.

* * *

For the rest of the day Rei kept her head down, going through the motions and otherwise simply trying to survive the day. She barely finished the application that Aizawa had given her, scrawling through the end of the day homeroom with her nose practically glued to the paper and zooming up to the front of the classroom as soon as he dismissed everyone. As she passed the paper to him she saw a look of satisfaction in his eyes, and she immediately knew that he had been stalling for her to have time to finish. With a twitchy half smile she had muttered her thanks before returning to her seat, gathering her belongings quickly and rushing out the door, briefly saying goodbye to Momo as she bolted.

She wanted to take a nap. There was homework to be done, money and expenses to be estimated, and emotions to be stored away. Nothing a quick nap couldn't solve. But there was one thing that a nap actually could not solve, and it was the fact that Reina still hadn't given her a call or even a text back. In fact, she was suspiciously absent in all aspects, not a single response coming through. It made Rei anxious; the last time this had happened, Reina had ended up in a hospital in a coma. With all her nerves suddenly surging again Rei rushed to her shoe locker, tying her boots hastily and running out the door. She didn't care that it was humid and warm, or that she looked like a madwoman on a hunt. Making it to the station in record time, she tried to ignore the fact that it felt as though a cinder block was squashing her chest down in anxiety on the entire ride back to Kumo City.

Not caring about rules and regulations, Rei used her quirk to boost herself back to the orphanage. There were still a few people on some of the more quiet and residential streets, so she took the backroads, cutting through huge blocks and leaping over roofs and hedges. By the time she arrived at the orphanage the kids were playing in the yard, Rei's sudden appearance startling them. They began to crow for her attention, but she pushed them away gently, escaping into the house.

"Urahara-san!"

Voices in the dining room. Rei shuffled as quickly as she could, mindful of the fact that her socks were slippery on the wooden floors. Her legs nearly slid out from underneath her as she made it into the archway of the dining room, gripping onto the wall to balance herself as she tried to catch her breath. For all her clumsiness, everything seemed to stop and fall together as golden eyes widened, meeting familiar warm brown eyes and taking in gunmetal hair.

"Rei-chan?"

The tears fell for the second time during the day. Rei hiccuped, falling to the floor as everything came over her. It was too much; the news from yesterday, the restless night of sleep, the struggle to stay awake through classes, the embarrassing meeting with Aizawa, the spat she had with Bakugou. She heard chairs scraping along the floor as both Reina and Urahara rose quickly to come to her side, picking her up and grabbing her belongings. Rei threw her arms around Reina's neck, sobbing into her neck as she heaved, back shaking and limbs trembling. Her mentor wrapped slender arms around the girl, rubbing circles around her back and whispering comforting words.

For a few minutes they simply stayed like that, sitting on the ground in the middle of the hallway, all the way until Rei's tears subsided and she was left hiccuping from the entire ordeal. Reina broke away gently, helping her up from the floor and sliding out the chair closest to her so that the emotionally broken high school girl could sit. Urahara returned from the kitchen, a glass of water in her hand that she set in front of Rei, who sniffled and murmured her thanks in acceptance as she sipped from the cup in small bits.

Reina's hands never left Rei's arms. The trio sat in silence as Rei calmed down, breathing unsteadily as she recovered from her breakdown. Reina was safe, was here in front of her. She was safe. They were safe. The tears began to start up again, Reina brushing them away with gentle fingers. "It's okay, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." It only made her cry harder, lowering her head as she wiped the tears from her own eyes with the back of her hand.

As she began to finally calm down, she was fully aware of just how weary she was. Her limbs felt numb and heavy, but she forced herself to stay awake and sit up. "I… I texted you…"

"I know, and I'm sorry." Her eyes looked weighed down, fully understanding just how much pressure Rei had been under during the day. "Urahara called me last night. I took the first train back from Tokyo this morning."

"B-but, your meeting…"

"My parents know. They understand."

Rei laughed, but it sounded more like another sob. "They hate me."

Reina's face turned serious, and she leaned forward to meet Rei's eyes, staring at her when she spoke with absolute honest. "They don't have you, Rei-chan. They just... didn't understand what I was doing at first. They're so proud that you made it into U.A.."

Sniffling, Rei rubbed her nose. Urahara disappeared to grab a box of tissues, reappearing after a few moments. Gratefully she blew her nose, thankful that she was finally able to breathe at least half normally again. She hated it when her nose was congested, sensitive smell and all; it clogged up her brain and made her feel less than operational. "Really?"

This time, her mentor smiled brilliantly. "Really, really. Did you know they had a hand in making your costume?"

It was news to Rei. She sat up straight in confusion. "W-what?"

"They're close business partners with the costume company that works directly with U.A.. They saw the designs and parameters you had sent in. They said you're a very smart girl, and one of the most detail oriented."

Rei laughed fully this time. "I told them to use carbon fibre. They must've thought that was so stupid."

"Well, most of Black Panther's costume is actually carbon fibre. It was a good idea, but they figured that you wanted to be a little more flexible since you're smaller than him."

Hearing Reina get serious about the specs and parameters was like having a lightbulb turn on, and Rei could see the passion in her eyes as she described her friend's costume. Even if Chirasaki had told her that Reina was running away, the happiness and passion she had when talking about the fabrics and materials was undeniable.

Rei had to know. "Reina, are you going back to your parents' company?"

She leaned back, scratching her cheek as a sheepish smile came across her face. "Actually, that was the whole reason why I went back the other day. I went to close a business deal with my father and a potential new buyer."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize." She pinched Rei's cheek playfully, earning another grin from the hero in training. "You come first. My parents will learn to accept that."

"That brings us back full circle." Urahara spoke from the other side of Rei, the two girls turning to their elder. She looked just as tired as yesterday, although there was a trace of a smile on her face right now. "I've informed Reina about the situation of the orphanage."

Rei blinked. "And…?"

"Aaand…" Reina dragged out, a brilliant smile on her face, "You're coming with me! If you want, that is."

"Huh?"

"Reina has offered to take you into her care. Technically without your parents' permission, it won't be an official adoption. We've been in conversation about this for a while now-"

"So what do you think?" Reina cut the woman off, much to Urahara's amusement and Rei's confusion. They had talked about what? But Reina eagerly grabbed her hands, shaking her excitedly. "Do you want to come with me?"

Her heart was so full, she felt ready to burst. "Are you kidding?" Rei smiled, the tears threatening to return. "I wouldn't want anything else in the world."

* * *

Arrangements were made. The three of them had agreed that nothing would happen until the end of the week, when the weekend finally came. It would give Rei time to say her goodbyes and allow her a full day to complete the move. The whirlwind continued to sweep Rei away, but now that the winds were dying down she knew that she would land on two feet. Everything would work out in the end.

That night she slept soundly, only waking up a few times before falling asleep once again with a grin on her face.

When the next day came, Rei could barely believe that it was only Tuesday. Not twelve hours prior she had been anxious for the weekend to come so that she could attempt to sort out her life. Now she was ready for Friday to come around for a completely different reason, desperately waiting for the day when she would finally leave the orphanage, and in the best, unexpected, manner possible. It had been an unsaid expectation that leaving the orphanage meant that one was about to face an even crueler adult world that was waiting on its haunches to devour them. To be moving into her mentor's house, someone who she loved like her own sister, was more than she could handle.

Rei's heart was full. There was no other way to describe things.

Arriving at school the next day, she was filled with an incredible sense of peace. As she stepped onto campus she breathed in deep, exhaling with a small smile on her face. She could do this, one day at a time.

"Tsuki-chan!"

Rei turned around in surprise, watching Yaoyorozu climb up the steps to the school behind her. Her friend waved to her, picking up the pace in order to catch up. Rei blinked at her concerned face. "Are you feeling better today? You look better…"

"Mm." Shifting her backpack on her shoulders, Rei smiled. "I'm better."

"Ah! You're smiling!"

"Is… something wrong with that?"

"N-no!" She looked rather sheepish, averting her gaze sheepishly for a moment. "It's just, I don't think that I've ever seen you this happy before."

Humming, she continued walking forward, Momo keeping pace with her. "Just feeling better today."

"I suppose everyone has their off days, don't we?"

"Yeah."

Just like that, they were back to normal. Yaoyorozu talked animatedly about a new shipment of her favorite tea that had just come in, Rei nodding but listening engagedly. There really was something new to learn everyday; even Rei found herself drawn into a conversation about tea and proper tea making practices, optimal temperatures and types of leaves. Yaoyorozu was truly a wealth of information, both on and off the battlefield, leaving Rei blow away by how much she could memorize and regurgitate on the spot.

They had talked all the way until they were in the classroom, settling down in their desks for a moment before picking up the conversation again. Todoroki, who had been reading a book at his desk before they came in, set down his book and joined in on the conversation, peppering his own comments on occasion. It was relaxing, casual, and Rei found herself quite comfortable. They had continued their talking all the way until Iida had called for class to get to attention, halting their motions and turning around in their seat so that they faced the front. As Aizawa entered the classroom and stood at the podium he made eye contact with Rei, who sat up straight and returned the look with an attentive, yet placid face. He nodded minisculely, acknowledging the difference.

Shocking, how a good night's rest could make all the difference. Just like that she was back to normal, taking copious amounts of notes while her eyes flickered between the front and the paper in front of her. So many things made so much more sense as they reviewed the previous day's materials briefly, concepts that had eluded her finally coming back now that her head was screwed on properly. With a small grin she twirled her pen in her hand, watching Midnight briefly before jotting something else down.

And just like that, lunch time was upon them. Rei sighed, stretching her hands up high into the air before arching her back, almost tipping over backward in her seat as she pushed her hands as far back as they could go. With a yawn she blinked her eyes, the afternoon sleepiness beginning to overtake her as she shook her head, trying to stay awake. Yaoyorozu looked at her in concern. "Are you still sleepy, Tsuki-chan?"

Rei shook her head, though rubbing her eyes in a sleepy manner didn't make her any more believable. "I'm fine," she reported, "It's just that the warm weather and the sunlight makes me naturally sleepy."

Yaoyorozu smiled. "You're just like a cat, Tsuki-chan."

"Cat?"

Todoroki's head snapped up, looking around for the aforementioned animal. Rei and Yaoyorozu blinked, looking to one another in confusion before Rei began snickering, a sheepish smile on Yaoyorozu's face. "Todoroki-kun… do you like cats?"

He was clearly disappointed, but tried to hide it. "Yeah."

Rei grinned, opening her mouth to say something but instead freezing as she saw a stoic Bakugou walking in her direction. She paused, tilting her head in confusion and slight apprehension as he walked all the way up to her desk, standing over her and staring into her eyes, unblinkingly. "I need to talk to you."

Nodding, Rei motioned for Yaoyorozu to leave, the girl leaving with Todoroki in suit as the two of them shot looks at the two that remained in the classroom. Rei refused to break eye contact, staring at him blankly even as the entire class began to filter out.

Once they were alone he shifted, finally looking away.

"Sorry."

She blinked once.

Then twice.

"Huh?"

He tossed a glare at her as he moved to lean against the window, though his posture was lazy today, lacking the deadly intent he had wielded masterfully on their previous encounter. Rei stood up, shifting from her seat to sit on top of her desk, lifting herself up as she shifted backwards on the surface. Crossing her ankles she swung them a few times in the air, watching her classmate as he scoffed. "Don't make me repeat myself."

She crossed her own arms over her chest. "Fine."

Bakugou sighed, eye twitching in discomfort. "I'm sorry for pushing you." He paused. "And for being a prick."

"Do you mean it?"

A glower. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course I do!"

"Okay."

He blinked. "That's it?"

Rei smiled, clasping her hands in her lap. "If you mean it, then I accept."

For a moment he simply stood astounded, staring at Rei as though trying to decipher if she was joking or not. But he found nothing, and he instead opted for simply rolling his eyes. "Stupid."

As a peace offering she extended her hands out again. There was no hesitation, Bakugou moving almost in sync as soon as Rei began to move. Her smile widened at the instinctive movement, though she made no comment. Moving her fingers slowly but thoroughly up and down his forearm, she tilted her head in thought. "Your arms are much better, compared to the sports festival."

He scoffed. "I didn't have my gauntlets on me. I almost forgot how much effort it takes to only use my hands."

"Tell me how they work. The gauntlets."

Bakugou hesitated for a moment, looking skeptically at Rei before giving in. If she wanted to know, then there wasn't really any reason to not talk about them. He talked about their construction and materials, their intended purpose and how they worked with his quirk. As he spoke, Rei focused her eyes on his forearm and hands, but her ears and mind listening attentively to his explanations. She honed in on his voice, how smooth it sounded when he wasn't trying to yell angrily at someone or something, her heart fluttering just a bit. When he finished his explanation she had moved onto his fingers, pulling on them slowly and snapping her fingers at the end.

"I see. So at the sports festival you were forced to revert to having a lack of reserves."

"More or less."

She frowned. "That makes sense why your forearms were so messed up. You were close to bursting something, from what I could tell."

"I know." His face turned dark as he recalled that day, something on his mind. "Quirks are just physical abilities, at the end of the day."

Rei nodded sagely, squeezing his right hand and lowering back down to his side before moving to pick up his left hand. They moved at the same time, hands bumping into one another clumsily, both of them freezing for a moment at the lack of coordination. Rei only smiled gently, taking initiative and grabbing his arm, feeling for any signs of strain and stress. "Remember to breathe," she spoke quietly.

She heard him inhale deeply, her fingers pressing down as he exhaled slowly. They fell into silence for a few moments, lost in their own thoughts. Rei's thoughts swirled. If he could apologize…

"I'm sorry too. For yesterday."

Bakugou looked at her, but Rei kept her head down, continuing to speak a bit sheepishly. There were few times that she ever honestly apologized, most of her apologies being forced out by principals searching for some sort of surface conclusion to the disruptions she and the other boys caused in her previous schools. Only Reina ever really received earnest apologies, and even then they were few and far in between now that they rarely actually argued. "I was rude."

The blonde boy clicked his tongue. "Don't apologize for that. I don't wanna start apologizing for everything I say."

Rei's lips twitched. She couldn't help it. "So you admit that you're always rude?"

"Don't push it."

Shaking her head, she smoothed her face over, dropping the smile. The placid mask back in place, she continued to massage his arms out.

"There you go again."

Hands freezing, she looked up in genuine confusion. "Huh?"

"Wearing that stupid mask of yours. You think you can hide behind a stoic look?"

At this Rei scowled, finger digging into a particularly deep knot. He hissed at the pain, but he refused to back down from the question, digging holes into her skull with his eyes. Neither would Rei back down. Bakugou's glares had never worked on her anyway. "No one wants to know the real me."

"Why? Because you're angry? Obviously that doesn't matter, because I'm still here."

"And yet you're barely tolerable."

He rolled his eyes at the dig, earning a small grin from Rei. But he persisted. "You tell me to stop being a jerk, but you think you can keep hiding behind your mask? Stop talking shit and start practicing what you preach."

Since when did she start taking personality suggestions from the most hot headed person in the class? But for some reason, Bakugou was making sense. He was right, and the two of them knew it. Still, being her true self… Could she really do it? What even was her true self? She toyed with the concept in her head, bouncing ideas back and forth. If she had to narrow it down…

It was how she acted whenever Haru had been around. Whenever Reina was around. No one in school got to see that side, save for maybe Todoroki when they had accidentally bumped into one another on their way to the hospital after the sports festival. When Rei had come to U.A. she had immediately put up a front simply because that was what she was used to; she had enemies back in her elementary and middle school, and she had to be tough and strong. She had to make sure that others wouldn't test her, but also pretend as though the hurtful words and the blows didn't hurt her, instead rolling off her back like oil and water. That was the persona she carried into U.A., but she was beginning to see that she didn't have enemies like that here. Class 1-A was her home away from home, and she was beginning to trust each and every one of them, even though that trust was still tentative and growing.

Why didn't she trust them with who she really was? She could be genuine here. If Uraraka and her bubbly personality survived alongside Bakugou's anger, if Todoroki's seriousness could coincide with Ashido's playfulness, then surely there was a place for her. Bakugou was right. She had to stop fooling herself and fooling others.

Finishing up with his left hand she gave it a squeeze, patting it and slowly letting it drop. But he suddenly held her hand in his, holding it between them as he stepped closer. Rei looked up, crimson meeting gold. Her lips parted in surprise. In the warm afternoon light with the sun shining through the window behind him, a shadow over his face, red eyes still glistened and glimmered with emotion, completely alive. He was beautiful.

"Will you stop faking already?" His voice was husky as he leaned over her, and for a moment Rei forgot to breathe. But as soon as she finally inhaled she regained a bit of her dignity back, choking out a response of her own that was as witty as she could make it, what with her last remaining brain cells fleeing from her for a moment.

"Only if you do."

He clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes as though annoyed at even the thought of being cordial, pulling back as he rolled his shoulder and righted his posture. Putting some distance between them he watched as Rei pushed herself off of the desk, turning his head away as she looked at him with a triumphant grin. "Don't push it."

It was enough to make her smile even more brightly, the two of them making their way down to lunch with one another. He opened the door for the both of them, shutting it behind them before falling into step with her. She noticed that he had slowed his steps enough for her to keep up, her short legs usually hard pressed to keep up with anyone in their class. But they moved at a comfortable speed, almost meandering into the cafeteria. Before they had entered the doors he placed a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to look up at him.

He drew in close, face mere inches away from her own. Rei's eyes widened as she inhaled sharply, unsure of what exactly to do. It was so sudden that she was caught off guard, the only thing she could do was blink.

He smiled, more of a gentle smirk than anything, but it was the most normal and peaceful she had ever seen him. "You look better when you smile."

And just as soon as he was here he was gone, pulling away and walking into the cafeteria like everything was normal. Rei blinked multiple times, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened and trying to calm her heart, beating so fast it felt as though it was going to bust out of her rib cage and fly out of her chest, onto the wooden floors.

Did he… just compliment her?

She wanted to tear her hair out, watching him strutting away confidently. She scowled, crossing her arms over her chest as she stormed into the cafeteria to get in line for food. By the way he walked, he knew exactly what he had just done.

But that also meant… he knew something.

She wanted to scream. But instead she took a deep breath, ordered her food, and made her way to Yaoyorozu's table. Sitting down, she nodded at everyone, ready to dig into her food. She had just taken a bite of her udon when Jirou looked at her suspiciously.

"What did Bakugou say to you?"

Rei choked. Yaoyorozu patted her back, watching her friend carefully in case she needed to help her out further. But Rei simply waved her away, sputtering and trying to regain some of her grace, though it was difficult now that she had gained everyone's attention on their side of the table. "Why… do you ask?"

The girl simply twirled her earphone jacks around her finger. "Bakugou came in with a strange look on his face, and you looked absolutely livid when you came in."

Relaxing, she internally sighed. At least they didn't think that anything else strange was going on. Shrugging her shoulders, she continued to eat her food. "Just him being a jerk, that's all."

No one seemed to buy it, but since it was the only explanation that she offered they accepted her half truth, all returning to business. As she chewed carefully, she saw the boy in question walk past her, sitting at another table a few spaces down and facing her as he sat. He met her gaze and flashed a cocky grin before his face wiped over with a blank look, turning toward the boys at his table.

"Tsuki-chan, you're going to break your chopsticks!"

"Good," she muttered darkly. "Because otherwise someone's going to die today in hero basic training."

* * *

"Alright, listen up! For today's hero basic training, we'll be playing a game that will test your skills as teams!"

The class stared blankly at All Might, unsure of what exactly to make of today's lesson. They were at the entrance for a forest area, a high density of trees all around. A game? He raised a hand, laughing at their reactions. "I'm sure some of you are wondering what we'll be doing. Are you ready? It's capture the flag!"

This time the class burst into cheers and chatter in recognition, excitement threading through the class in anticipation even as All Might worked to settle them back down. "Of course, there's a catch. You'll be separated into two teams, of course. But you'll also have a partner!" He lifted up what looked like a strip of ribbon, although it looked a long stronger, more akin to the bandages that Aizawa wore around his neck. "You'll be tied together with a partner. It doesn't matter where you connect, the choice is yours."

A dual team test, was it? There was certainly layers to this game. Not only did everyone have to work as a cohesive unit and decide who was going to go on the offense and the defense, but the smaller units had to work together as well. Rei nudged Momo, whispering as the class began asking questions. "Team up?"

Momo had just opened her mouth when All Might pulled out a box, stuffing his hand in. "We'll be randomizing it, so you won't partner up with just your friends! What did I say at the beginning? That's right; we're testing your skills and how you cooperate with teams!"

Yaoyorozu sighed, Rei patting her arm comfortingly.

"Next time, then." The two girls shared a smile before returning their attention to the front.

"Sensei!" As always, Iida had a question. "Since we have an odd number of students, what will the odd person out do?"

"Good question!" All Might threw a thumbs up out before explaining. "The last person will find a place to hide in the map. The first team to find them gets to put them on their team as a free roaming individual!"

"Now! The first pick is…" He drew out the first two names. "Uraraka and Iida! You'll be on team A!"

Most of the class grumbled at how lucky the two friends had been, the two of them moving to the front to pick up their ribbons, already beginning to discuss strategies as they stood off to the side. "The second pick… who could it be?"

Everyone watched with bated breath as he drew two more names from the box, unfurling the pieces of paper and flashing them in the air.

Rei's eyes widened. Then she groaned, tilting her head up toward the sky. "Oh, fuck no-"

Just her luck.

"Bakugou and Akatsuki! Team B!"

* * *

"This is ridiculous."

The groups had been divvied up and sent to their respective locations, given a flag to plant anywhere they wanted on their side. Team B was sent following after a storming Bakugou and a scowling Akatsuki, who held the flag securely in her hands. They had gotten pretty close to the end of the field, almost near the back wall of their section. But Akatsuki had stopped, sitting down and putting the flag in her lap as she bowed her head, hands on her temples. She closed her eyes, trying to shut everything out.

"Oi, are you even paying attention?"

Akatsuki glowered. Even with her eyes closed, everyone shuddered at the deadly aura she leaked at being interrupted. It was a true testament to the fact that anger could be both violent and subtle. Somehow, Rei made subtle anger feel like a noose was being slipped around everyone's neck and would tighten at the slightest sound or inconvenience. "Shut up. I'm trying to think of a plan. Give me a few minutes."

They had fifteen minutes to come up with a plan. Everyone had eyes on the storming girl and the equally irritable boy as he scoffed, crossing his arms and looking around the space. The strangest part about the entire situation was that Bakugou listened to Akatsuki, shutting his mouth and tapping his foot on the ground impatiently. But even more, it looked like he was completely deferring to her judgement when it came to the exercise. That was a first. It was Kaminari who shrugged, taking the lead for the rest of them. "Akatsuki-san is probably the smartest here. If anyone can outsmart Midoriya…" He thought back to their first class, when he, Jirou, and Akatsuki had gone up against Yaoyorozu. Akatsuki had outwitted the model student, playing mind games that were simultaneously layered yet simple. Going up against Midoriya and his meticulous planning was slightly different, but if there was anyone in their group who could do it, it was the glowering cat girl in front of them.

She wasn't perfect, but she was undoubtedly their best bet and shot at winning.

Ashido jumped up energetically. "Yeah, that's right! We won't have to worry!"

Their team consisted of Ashido with Shoji, Kirishima and Ojiro, Mineta and Kouda, and Kaminari with Sero. Akatsuki's brow furrowed as she stewed in her thoughts, sitting on the hard ground. Team A had a lot of hard hitters, particularly with Iida, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and Midoriya now that he was demonstrating relatively good control over his quirk and was able to maneuver around the field quickly. If Team A found Tokoyami, the odd man out who was hiding somewhere in the forest, then their chances of winning were even better. Team A also had the most cooperative students, and they were most likely listening to Midoriya as he developed a strategy right as they spoke. Cursing her luck, Akatsuki wracked her brain for ideas. Think! Who would Midoriya choose to defend, or to come and get their flag?

A solid minute passed, Bakugou scoffing. "Are you done yet? Because I'm going to get that flag for myself."

That was it. Akatsuki opened her eyes, looking up to the group as her lips parted for a moment in a gasp. Then, a smirk covered her face. "I have an idea." Team B leaned in toward her, mouths shut tightly as they waited in expectation. But she simply turned to Bakugou, crossing her arms. "We're not going for the flag." Before he could react, she held up a hand, motioning for him to stop. "We're going to be the distraction. We're going after Midoriya and Tsuyu."

The blonde was clearly surprised, but the compromise seemed to please him greatly as he grinned maniacally. It was nothing that anyone had anticipated, but the bizarreness of the plan surely had its place. Nine sets of wide eyes stared at her as she picked up the flag, standing up and walking over to a tree. She hopped up into its limbs, finding a place to stick it into and shoving it violently and deep into the trunk. She felt a little bad for the tree, it having done nothing to deserve what was about to come. Jumping back down and dusting her hands off, she joined the circle that had formed.

"Alright, listen up. Here's what we're gonna do…"

* * *

"Are you ready? Because ready or not, we… are… starting!"

At the sound of All Might's voice over the intercom and the buzzer that belted out over the training ground, Midoriya powered up his quirk and took off across the boundary line. Tsuyu sat on his back, one arm wrapped around his neck for support as she piggybacked on her partner. Their left arms had been tied together, nondominant hands that allowed for them to travel comfortably while also giving them a decent amount of range. As long as his legs and one hand was free, Midoriya would be able to defend and do whatever they needed to do. Tsuyu also had her tongue to help guide them.

All in all, there were few other matches that were as favorable as this one.

To be frank, Team A was loaded with hard hitters. They had truly lucked out on getting not only Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, but the two of them as partners. The two of them had the capacity to act as both long range and short range fighters, what with Todoroki's long range quirk and hand to hand combat abilities as well as Yaoyorozu's ability to create a variety of traps and weapons, making them obvious candidates to defend the flag.

And that was only the beginning.

Compared to the other team, where many of their members were not team players, Team A was most likely to take the victory here. It was logical. Midoriya felt sorry for Akatsuki, who had been paired with Kacchan. The entire class had seen the competitive sparks flying between them, but Midoriya had noticed that Kacchan… seemed different. He couldn't place his finger on it. But Bakugou's reaction to having Akatsuki as his partner hadn't been strange, in an entirely indescribable way.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this was the second time the two had been paired together so far during the school year. The first time had quite literally been in the first week of school, when everyone was still getting to know one another and learning about one another's quirks. Bakugou and Akatsuki had scraped by with a win against Iida and Kirishima. And most strangely enough, the former had actually worked together, somehow, some way. No one had ever really addressed it or asked how it had happened, or to what precise degree the two of them had collaborated and who was giving the orders. Yet Midoriya knew that something was going on between the two, or at least there was something between them, some commonality that allowed them to work together.

No one normal was assigned to a team with Bakugou and walked away unscathed, physically or emotionally.

Sailing through the emerald canopy, Midoriya continued to contemplate these thoughts while keeping his eyes peeled for members on the opposite team. Akatsuki and Bakugou were a strange pair when put together; they were undoubtedly the two most volatile people in Class 1-A, but on opposite ends of the spectrum. Where Bakugou was physically violent with an outward temper to match, Akatsuki tended to be the silence assassin that could level anyone with a single look when she wanted to. Putting the two together on a team was almost a certain recipe for disaster. Both were stubborn to a fault, confident, and highly skilled. If neither was willing to budge, then their team would fall apart.

Midoriya was confident in his plan. The pieces were in motion. All they had to do was find Tokoyami first. Then, victory was almost assured.

"Kero! Midoriya!"

Green eyes widened at the figure that barreled in their direction, and Midoriya barely had time to adjust his momentum and jump high into the air as an explosive fist came barreling down in his direction. An explosion ripped into the earth, causing the dirt to rise up all around them and cover his vision. With a hand over his nose and mouth Midoriya strained to look around, regaining balance and watching out for the next, inevitable, attack.

"Thanks, Tsuyu." It had been his partner's quick warning that had alerted him to the danger and pulled him out of his thoughts, no matter how little information Tsuyu had provided. At least they had time to react. As the dust began to settle, Midoriya's eyes landed on Bakugou's figure, hands crackling at his sides as a maniacal grin was plastered on his face, blood red eyes trained on his opponent.

"The hell you think you're doing, Deku?"

A cough sounded from behind Bakugou, making Midoriya's eyes light up in surprise. "Idiot. Fucking warn me. I can't guard my ears and mouth at the same time. Damn dust."

"Hah?" Bakugou looked over his shoulder to the small figure on his back, a black haired head popping into Midoriya's view. Gold eyes glared with horrifying intensity, but her look was only matched by Bakugou's bloodthirst for a fight and his smug arrogance at her discomfort. "You that weak, beansprout?"

"You're not the one with sensitive hearing!"

"I'm the one with the explosive quirk! I hear it all the time!"

To Midoriya's horror, Akatsuki smacked the top of Bakugou's head with her free hand, brow wrinkling in distaste and irritation. "Shut up and fight, idiot!"

"Shut up and hang on!" There was no time to think as Bakugou barreled toward Midoriya, fists ready and hands crackling in anticipation. The green haired boy was hard pressed to jump out of the way, using One for All to dodge the attacks but barely managing to keep out of harm's way. It was even more dangerous now that Tsuyu was on his back, knowing that someone else was at risk of getting hurt by Bakugou's anger, specifically at his childhood friend.

But there was no time to think.

Only time to act.

If Midoriya had time to think, he would have considered how odd it was that Bakugou hadn't retaliated against Akatsuki for her bopping of his head, for how she replied with sarcasm and bite that mirrored the explosive blonde's own. He didn't have time to consider the fact that the two of them were working together in tandem.

He didn't realize that time was ticking down, and that he had been predicted from the tip of his head to the soles of his shoes.

* * *

AN: Oops, cliffhanger! Sorry, I know I usually don't do big cliffhangers like this, but... **ψ(｀∇´)ψ**

Not gonna lie, we're heading towards some of the writing that I'm actually most proud of thus far in the story. I hope you're exciting for some of the future chapters to come!

Also, I'm still on a struggle bus. Not only is my health giving me fifty shades of issues, but I'm also walking in commencement for my university and filling out all kinds of paper work for my masters program that I'm in (grad school is a wild time y'all). It's a busy time. I've decided to set a goal of posting at least one chapter a week, if not more. That way, I hopefully don't leave you all hanging. I'm going to do my best! Please be patient with me as I try to work things out, and as I continue to write more chapters. I'm a bit stuck/ have a bit of writer's block on the current chapters that I'm on, but I mean it when I say that I'm tackling it and adding ideas every day, even when I don't want to. I'm going to keep writing!

**And thank you for your reviews...**

**dragontamer64**: Yay! I hope you find some of my tips useful. I mean, I do have a thousand other suggestions, but I tried to consolidate everything into the things that could be the most applicable to a wide audience and also the ones that I've personally found that work for me. Writing is hard and a lot of practice. If you ever need someone to proof things or someone to bounce ideas off of, I'm here! I'd be more than happy to help you with any of your works if you'd like. I promise I'm nice, and I don't look for every wrong thing (I hate the red pen theory, and I also have experience as a real world proof reader/ writing tutor, so I mostly know what I'm doing)

**Waterdragon1123**: Haha, so true. But I hope that this chapter has been a little twist! Please look forward to the fact that I will be writing a lot more Reina and Rei interactions; I'm very excited to show what I've written thus far! Thank you for your review!

**xenocanaan**: Thank you! I'm very happy that you've enjoyed this story so far! Tbh I didn't actually really like this story until people started showing interest, so it's been very motivating for me to change the things I don't like about it and make them into good things.

**N3mm**: I love the art analogy! I definitely see how they can have similarities, and I love the insights that you bring. I'm very honored that this story inspires you! It's always a joy to read long reviews, and I appreciate the time it takes to write them. Please look forward to more sweet/ asshole moments with Rei and Bakugou. They are my favorite shitty children, my precious walnuts.

**yaoi4adollar**: Thank you! I will do my best to pump out the content as much as I can!

**Want more tips? Have more ideas? Just like the story so far? Please leave a review!**


	17. A New Home

Chapter 17

A New Home

* * *

"_The match is over! Team B wins!" _

Midoriya and Tsuyu panted, slowly picking themselves up from the ground. The trees around them had been absolutely destroyed, singed fragments of twigs, branches, and even broken hulls of entire trees lay in a wide perimeter around them. The air smelled of smoke and gun powder and defeat. For a moment they sat there in the spot where they had been knocked down, absolutely stunned.

How had it turned out this way?

He had left Todoroki and Yaoyorozu to protect their flag, the two of their quirks combined more than enough to provide ample blockades and barriers for the other team. If by some small chance that someone on Team B had been able to get past Todoroki's long range quirk, then Yaoyorozu would provide the second line of defense since she could create items to help in both long and short range combat. On the front lines, they had Iida and Uraraka along with Tokoyami, the pair seeking out that one person that would tip the balance in their favor, the three of them then going for the opposing team's flag. How had those three failed? With their quirks combined there was almost no feasible way that they had failed, considering what quirks they had gone up against. Team A had an absolute slew of knock out abilities, balanced from long distance to short distance, offensive and defensive abilities, as well as support. And aside from that all, they all knew how to work with one another, in sharp contrast to the biting and antagonistic personalities on the other team. How had this happened?

Across from them on the other side of the clearing, Midoriya watched with wide eyes as Akatsuki fumbled with her and Bakugou's ties. Similar to Midoriya and Tsuyu the two of them had decided to join themselves at the arm, leaving their legs open for maneuvering. In fact, the two pairs had a near identical set up, aside from the fact that their tie had been shifted further up their arm so that Rei could move her hand away from Bakugou's gauntlets; they had tied their left sides together, the girls riding on their partner's back and providing additional support and defense.

He now watched as Bakugou barked something at Akatsuki, horrified as she stopped trying to untangle them and using her right hand to smack his upper arm, the sound echoing through the woods to his position not far away. Midoriya was convinced that Bakugou would explode. No one could get away with anything like that when it came to the explosive boy. But his childhood friend only scowled, tossing his head to the side as his partner said something that Midoriya's ears couldn't quite pick up at that distance. It apparently was enough of a reprimand to get her partner to stop moving around and tugging at their bond, letting her pick away at the tight knot until it finally came undone. She dropped it in his hands, Bakugou snatching the ribbon and storming away.

It was then that Akatsuki sighed, turning away from her spot and making her way to Midoriya and Tsuyu. She offered her hands to them, Tsuyu realizing what she wanted before Midoriya and catching him off guard as the frog girl placed their wrists in Akatsuki's hands. The golden eyed girl bent down, stooping over to help them as the duo continued to sit on the ground, catching their breath and trying to figure out what had happened. With deft fingers she picked at the knot and pulled it apart, taking the ribbon into her own hands. She then extended two hands, gesturing to pull the two up."Good work today. You did good."

Looking away for a brief moment, Midoriya sighed. Tsuyu allowed herself to be pulled up from the ground, the green haired boy taking a bit longer. "I didn't see it coming. To be honest, I'm not sure what happened…"

"Sorry. I definitely took advantage of you all."

Surprise crossed Midoriya's face at Akatsuki's comment. But she only extended her hand again in good will, pulling Midoriya up with ease as soon as he placed his hand in hers. With a tilt of her head she motioned for the two of them to follow her as they walked back toward the entrance, surely heading to a debrief before changing back into their school uniforms.

"Tsuki-chan, you predicted Midoriya's plan, didn't you?"

"Eh?" Midoriya looked between the two girls, stiffening as Rei nodded her head. She walked at Midoriya's right, head looking forward even as she began to explain, her face calm and collected.

"It wasn't hard to guess who would be stationed where. Todoroki and Yaoyorozu would be defending the flag, since they're long distance fighters and can keep everyone away. Additionally Todoroki's mobility was limited with Yaoyorozu; even if she created something for herself to adapt, her abilities aren't as developed as Todoroki."

"I see."

"That left Uraraka and Iida, along with you two, with the highest mobility. I knew that you wanted to go find Tokoyami to give you a numbers advantage." At this she turned golden eyes up to Midoriya. "You were expecting to face off with Bakugou, knowing that he wanted to grab the flag or go after you personally, right?"

The boy flinched. But everything thus far had been true. He had completely expected Bakugou to act personally, now that he had been given the chance to use his quirk against his classmates. "Actually, I thought that Kacchan would go after the flag. He does have the best mobility on your team."

Rei nodded. "You were right. Bakugou originally wanted to go for the flag himself."

"Originally…?" Midoriya balked, clenching his hands in front of his chest as he looked down to Akatsuki. "So, he was going for the flag?"

"It took some convincing, and a bit of bargaining. I convinced him to go after you instead."

"Ehh?!" The boy shouted, completely thrown off. "Akatsuki-san, that's kind of mean! And a little underhanded… Actually," he contemplated, bringing a hand to his chin, "how did you convince him? Kacchan definitely doesn't like getting told what to do."

The paths through the forest slowly began to converge, other classmates starting to come into view as they all drew closer to the entrance. Akatsuki waved back to Yaoyorozu, who was looking slightly disappointed at the outcome of today's class. "Most of the group agreed to go with my plan. Kaminari did a little convincing where it was needed."

"Kaminari… That's right, he was on your battle team on the first day of class, wasn't he?"

She blinked in surprise. "I'm… surprised you remember. But yes."

"Kero." Tsuyu peered around Midoriya. "Then you and Bakugou were a distraction."

Looking between the two quickly, Midoriya was surprised once again as Akatsuki nodded in affirmation. "Ashido and Mineta set up a sort of blockade around the flag. We disregarded finding Tokoyami, instead sending all of our pairs to distract your own. Kaminari and Sero stayed at the point. By using Mineta and Ashido's quirks, it ensured that the route to the flag couldn't be jumped over, and it required a lot of focus, like the minefield during the sports festival. Mineta's balls were placed close enough to the flag so that only someone's hand would be able to slip into the tree and grab it, making sure that Dark Shadow would be useless."

A look of realization dawned on Midoriya, although it was mingled with disappointment. "Iida and Uraraka would have to take it slow, and Sero would be able to wrap them up."

"Then, the flag…"

Everyone had now made it back into the clearing near the gate, All Might standing in front of them. Near the front of the class was a dancing Ashido, waving the flag in front of Team B energetically as they all grinned. Even Akatsuki managed to smile. "Ashido and Shoji. Ashido melted Todoroki's ice when they weren't looking, Shoji providing the eyes. Because all the other teams were engaged, they were able to sneak around the perimeter without being bothered."

Their trio was the last to arrive, All Might placing his hands on his hips once they pulled up to the group. "Right! Good work today, everyone. And especially good work to Team B! You all showed what you could do when you teamed up and worked together. Keep it up!"

Their team cheered ecstatically, all the while the members from the other team ranging from happy to disappointed. Dismissing the class and running off, the students were left in All Might's dust to head back and change back into their school clothes, walking in groups and chattering as usual. Yaoyorozu joined up with Akatsuki, a small smile on her face. "Well done, Tsuki-chan."

"Thanks, Momo. You too."

The studious girl sighed, scratching her cheek and looking down. "I still have much to learn. I can't believe that we lost our flag, all when I was guarding it."

"It's okay, Yaoyorozu-san!" Midoriya smiled encouragingly. "To be honest, Akatsuki-san outsmarted us all."

The praise made Rei flush, a bit of color coming to her cheeks as she crossed her arms. "I wouldn't go that far…"

"I couldn't see much. Will you tell me what happened?"

Midoriya began to repeat much of what Akatsuki had already explained, the girl only hopping in every once in a while to make amends or add details where the boy was lacking. The discussion turned into one of strategy, talking about the various groups and their subsequent strengths and weaknesses

As the other three began to talk more and more about Team A's short comings and areas for improvement, Rei drifted off into her thoughts. In recounting the strategy session she had with Team B, Rei had inadvertently skimmed over a lot of her teammates' debating and doubt about her plan in order to keep things pertinent to Midoriya's interest. Team B had almost been ready to fight her about her decision to forget Tokoyami, convinced that they needed someone with his mobility and individuality on their side. Against extremely mobile people such as Iida, Midoriya, and Todoroki, all Team B had comparatively was Bakugou and Akatsuki. Even after she had explained the logic of Mineta's trap they were uncertain. Even Kaminari hadn't been able to help as much to convince the group, uncertain as he was on his own. It was only when Bakugou yelled at them to "shut their traps unless they had a better plan" that they were silenced and went along with Akatsuki.

She wasn't going to lie; it had been a huge risk. They had literally given Team A Tokoyami without contesting it, putting them at a severe disadvantage when it came down to the numbers. But Akatsuki hadn't been focused on that. She had been placing a bet on Midoriya's confidence in his friends and the fact that, with Bakugou, there normally would have been a great deal of dissonance on Team B. She had placed a bet on Ashido and Shoji in particular; their defense was strong, but she hadn't initially been sure that the two of them would be able to sneak around the top two students in their class. Then again, they did have stealth and a backdoor, so there was a great deal of payoff.

When it came down to it, Midoriya's plan had fewer holes. It was a solid plan that worked with the odds and maximized them in their Team's favor. Akatsuki had made multiple bets, educated guesses and gambles that would have certainly been their downfall if they hadn't been pulled off. But at the end of the day, wasn't that what this team exercise was about? Trusting in her peers to get the job done, letting her take the hands off the wheel and believing in the fact that her teammates would pick up the pace and build upon the groundwork she had laid? Putting things into that perspective, it made her feel a little better while simultaneously worse. She originally hadn't trusted her team. That was something she needed to work on.

The most surprising part of the activity was the fact that Bakugou had been surprisingly cooperative. Sure, he had scoffed at some of the ideas she had, the placements she decided, and most certainly at the fact that she single handedly decided what he was going to do. She knew that he wanted to do his own thing, to take matters into his own hands. But in the end he had conceded to her plan.

"_Oi, you sure this plan is gonna work?"_

_Rei simply looked down at their elbows as she tied the ribbon, making sure that the knot was secure without putting additional strain on their arms. She had kept it fairly loose, only making sure that it wasn't so big that it slipped over his gauntlets, allowing them a fair amount of space to move around one another. Giving an experimental tug, she nodded in satisfaction when it didn't come undone, wrapping up the loose ends so they wouldn't get in the way. "It's a gamble, but I'm pretty sure." _

"_Don't say shit like that." Red eyes glared at her. "We're gonna win. Just say, 'yes,' or, 'it's gonna work.'" _

_Giving it another tug, she finally looked back up at her partner, exhaling steadily through her nose as she refrained from sighing. "Fine. We're gonna win." _

"_Don't forget, I'm only going along with your plan because I want to win. It'd better work." _

"_Are you saying you think I'm gonna half-ass something?"_

"_I'm saying you better not, or I'll kick your entire ass." _

_It was enough to make Rei smirk, the banter between them something she enjoyed. In that moment, even with the pressure they were putting on themselves, she found that she was happy, even if just for a moment. Rolling her shoulders back confidently, she gave a full smile to her partner. "Do you trust me?"_

_His eyes lingered on her for a moment longer before he turned around, crouching down so that she could climb on his back. She climbed on, wrapping her legs around his torso and her free arm around his neck, trying to make sure that she kept her arm low enough so she didn't choke him. It was only because she was so close to his head that she heard him mutter under his breath. _

"_Do you even need to ask?"_

They had done fairly well together, although admittedly this wasn't their first time. Rei was reminded of the first week of school, when she had been paired with Bakugou for the heroes and villains civilian rescue. But this was an entirely different animal, especially since they had to navigate three dimensional space with one another in order to fight Midoriya and Tsuyu. There were a few times where they had fallen out of sync, Bakugou moving suddenly when Rei wasn't ready, their momentum changing suddenly in the air as he screamed directions at her while she tried to refrain from releasing her free hand to smack him over the head. But they had successfully battled it out with Midoriya and Tsuyu, holding their own even as they collided heads on occasion. Of all the people on their team, she had to admit that Bakugou had been lucky; she was accustomed to running around and fighting in three-dimensional space, most of their other teammates and even the rest of their classmates unaccustomed to such a style. Even their two styles were similar, what with the way they could change their momentum and direction mid air quickly while keeping their balance and sense of direction definitely in sync, although Bakugou could change faster with his explosive quirk. All in all it had actually been a welcoming experience. For all the shit she had given him at the beginning, he was a pretty decent teammate.

Looking forward, she watched her partner as he walked a few meters ahead of her, shoulders pulled back confidently as Kirishima talked at him about something. She found that she had to thank him again; he had placed his trust in her, and had thus convinced the rest of their team to follow as well. Everything that happened, the outcome and the successes, she owed to all of them. Rei smiled.

Things were finally looking up.

* * *

"Something's different about you this morning."

Rei had just finished tying on her apron, washing her hands thoroughly as sudsy pink bubbles began to appear from the rigor. Mamaru was beginning to pull out all the necessary tools, preparing their workstations for another morning at the bakery. Stepping into stride Rei began to assist her, digging through some of the lower drawers and shelves since she was the smaller one, handing things over to her supervisor as the woman passed by. "Actually, I have something to tell you." She hesitated, standing up to see that Mamaru had her attention focused on her. "I'm… going to resign."

Teasingly, Mamaru began to move around. "What, you don't like me anymore?"

"T-that's not it!"

The older woman laughed, beginning to pull out the bins of flour. "I'm just kidding. What's going on? Should I be concerned?"

Falling silent, Rei thought about her conversation with Reina a few days earlier.

"_I've been thinking." _

_The two were sitting in the dining room at the orphanage, working on a math set together for Rei's homework while sipping cans of orange juice. Twirling her pen in her fingers Rei looked up. "About?"_

"_Your job." Reina leaned back. "U.A. is only going to get harder, and you'll need to dedicate more and more time outside of class to not only your studies but your connections. So," she paused nervously, licking her lips, "since you're going to live with me, I'd like to provide you with a small allowance." _

_Rei blinked. "... Allowance?"_

"_It won't be too much, but it'll be enough to give you some spending money if you want to go out with friends. I just… don't want you to start stressing out with work. It's a big time commitment." _

_It was too much. Rei shook her head, setting her pen down as she turned fully to Reina. "I can't do that. That's your money." _

_But Reina remained adamant. "I've already given this a lot of thought. Since I'm returning to work with my parents, my stipend is growing even more, and I don't need all the money. So, I'd like to do this for you."_

_There was a bit of Rei that still hesitated. Free money? But her morals were still in the gray area. Still, Reina had a point; going into the future she was going to find herself hard pressed for more time, and she needed to prioritize becoming the best hero possible. It was logical, and if she admitted it, was more than generous. What had she ever done to deserve such a wonderful mentor that supported her in every way?_

_Nodding her head after a while, she caved. "Okay." _

_Reina blinked in surprise at how easy it had been, but another one of her trademark, ear splitting grins appeared. "Okay! Good, I'm glad! I'm a bit surprised that you didn't push a little more-"_

"_On one condition." _

"_Yes?"_

"_I get to call you nee-san." _

_A hand landed on top of her head, mussing choppy black locks affectionately. Even as Rei scowled she couldn't help the way her lips moved upward. "Is that even a condition? Of course, silly." _

"_Okay." _

"_Right! Now let's get back to it." _

Rei found that she wanted to be honest with Mamaru. "The orphanage is closing, but Reina is taking me in so I can stay at U.A.. I think it's time for me to focus on my school work and my career soon."

The woman nodded, moving around one of the production tables. "I believe it. You've been through the ringer already. Reina's been keeping me updated on what I don't get on the news."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Rei began working on making dough. "You're not mad?"

"I won't be, on the condition that you come back here every so often to visit."

She smiled. "It's a promise."

"Right. Let's get to work, and no slacking off just because it's your last day!"

Rei blinked. "Aren't I supposed to put in a two weeks notice or something?"

"Honey, you were attacked by that Hero Killer man. You deserve time off."

"Mamaru-san… Thank you."

* * *

Saturday. The first, glorious day of the weekend. After finishing up at Mamaru's shop for the final time, standing outside the store for a moment to take it all in one final time before bowing in thanks, she made her way back to the orphanage. It wasn't like she was saying goodbye forever; she had promised Mamaru that she would come back and visit (and bring her business, of course). It was still early in the morning, the sun barely up in the sky long enough to even heat the pavement up. Cool and dry, it was just how Rei liked it, and she hummed absentmindedly to herself as she walked the short distance back to the orphanage.

Today was the day.

She was moving out.

She wondered what Reina's place was like. She liked to imagine that it was a little apartment somewhere in a quiet neighborhood, since Reina had stated that it was in Mustafu. There would be big windows to let in a lot of sunlight, and it would be a little messy because Reina was occasionally disorganized when it came to physical objects. But the one concrete fact thus far was that it would be closer to U.A., which was definitely a perk, although that also brought the challenge that she would have to figure out which train she needed to take to get to school. Hopefully that meant that she could catch a few extra minutes of sleep in the morning.

It was exciting, and Rei found her pace picking up as she drew closer.

By the time she made it back to the orphanage, she was vibrating with energy, a smile plastered across her face. Running up the stairs and quickly but as quietly as possible, she opened the door to her room slowly, halting in her tracks as her brain suddenly short circuited. Already inside was Reina, taking apart her futon and standing it up in the corner. She stopped as she noticed Rei entering, a sheepish but bright look on your face. "I thought I'd come help before you came back, but I woke up a little late." She looked at her mentee for a moment in silence as Rei removed her small pack and began stripping out of her work clothes. "You look excited."

"Can you tell?" Rei's voice dryly answered, earning a laugh from Reina as she continued to move about the room.

"I brought you a couple suitcases to use. I hope you don't mind that we'll be taking the train back."

"Taking… the train?" Rei blinked as she threw on a black compression top, folding her long sleeve and tossing it to a corner on the floor. "What else would we take?"

Reina eyed the shirt while beginning to fold Rei's comforter. "I hope you know that you'll have to pack that shirt up. Why throw it on the ground? And it's because Hotaru took the car today to visit a friend that's in town."

"Ah." Rei blinked, taking in everything Reina had just said and digesting it in pieces first. "Will Hotaru be there today?"

"She'll be back later in the evening. She told me to tell you that she's looking forward to having you home though."

A warm feeling surfaced in her chest at Hotaru's thoughtfulness. It felt like mere weeks ago that the two of them had met, the constantly calm woman the perfect antithesis of Reina, who fluttered around everywhere with bright energy. They had gotten along well, although Rei would have been lying if she said that she hadn't been looking forward to their meeting; as the legendary friend from college that got Reina into the mentorship program, it was safe to say that Hotaru had effectively saved Rei's life, however indirectly. The woman was a quiet soul, but a passionate woman who had requested a transfer from Tokyo's program all the way to Mustafu, working at a different orphanage in the next prefecture over now, all to be with Reina. They were adorable, and Rei often found herself slightly jealous of their relationship, how they were always in sync with one another.

Opening her closet she began pulling things out, quickly folding them before tossing them into the suitcase next to her. Reina sighed, coming next to Rei and refolding the shirts carefully before tucking them away properly. "Rei, be a little more careful, otherwise they won't all fit."

Rei snickered. "Yes, mom."

Even Reina wasn't immune to her sarcasm, shoulders shaking as she laughed. Rei listened to her directions, taking greater care to fold the shirts and passing them on to her mentor for her to pack them away. The time ticked away quickly, the two of them running through the room and double checking that Rei had everything. All her belongings, packed into two suitcases. It was a little sad, but at the same time it reminded Rei of just how little she had to keep her in that place. It was time to move on, and she was lucky that she had such a wonderful opportunity.

It was close to noon by the time they finished cleaning everything and making sure that the room was left spotless. The two suitcases clunked down the stairs, alerting the kids downstairs to Rei's location as they came charging from the playroom around the corner. She was almost tackled to the ground as the smaller ones swarmed her legs, clinging on to the limbs and trying to weigh her down. Reina only laughed as she took the suitcase, moving the luggage out the door before moving back in to find Urahara. Leaving Rei to the small gremlins she began to wrangle them off of her with a bit of laughter as they then began to swing from her arms. "Get off!" Her yells only made them giggle more, the infectious laughter intensifying until Rei was exhausted.

"Seriously, I can't walk out of here with all of you dragging me down!"

"Don't go!"

"Nee-san!"

There were about ten kids, all of them elementary school age, clambering for her attention. With a sigh she let herself go limp, watching as all of them eventually backed away as they sensed her change in attitude. Finally free she made her way to her boots, leaning over as she pulled them up and laced them tightly.

"Why do we have to go?"

Rei looked up to a small girl in particular, who huddled at the front of the group. Sighing, she put her hands on her hips. "Sometimes adults are bad, and that's just how life is. That's why, when I become an adult, I'm gonna be a cool adult that you can count on."

"Nee-san, is that why you're gonna be a hero?"

She couldn't help the smile that came to her face, the pride she carried in her shoulders. "That's right. Someday, you'll hear the name Meishin, and you'll know that I'm there for you. Okay?" She rarely got to spend time with the little ones anymore, but she was determined to not be like the middle schoolers and high schoolers she remembered when she was little. They had been cold, pushing the younger kids out of their way with cold detachment. They had succumbed to the darkness. She wouldn't do that. Even if she didn't love each and every one of them, she couldn't leave them behind like that.

So she smiled. "We'll all meet again. That's a promise."

They seemed disappointed, but they accepted it. That was how it was. It was all they could do, if they wanted to survive. Accept things with a bowed head, and move along. As they said their goodbyes and moved back to the playroom, Rei saw Urahara standing with Reina in the hallway, watching her with fondness. She felt tears come to her eyes, but she pushed them away, even as Urahara strode through the hallway with open arms, gesturing for Rei to approach her. They met at the threshold, Urahara towering over Rei as the two of them embraced for a while.

When they finally pulled away, Rei could see relief on Urahara's face. "We wish you all the best, Rei. I look forward to the day when you become a hero."

Rei bowed. "I'll do my best."

Reina and Urahara embraced one final time before the former slipped on her shoes, the two of them waving goodbye for one final time. Out the door they went, back into the summer heat. It was getting close to noon, Reina fanning herself with her hand as she took one of the suitcases. Rolling through the dirt yard and out onto the street, Rei found herself turning around one last time to look at the building.

So many memories in this place, both good and bad. But she couldn't deny that there was a fondness for the place where she had grown up, for the people who had been dedicated to her, the friends that she had. It was a piece of her, undeniably, setting the foundation for who she was today. Rough, tough, and world worn seemed to be the theme, but she couldn't discredit the softness and kindness that people like Haru had taught her. It filled her with a sense of nostalgia, the sensation creeping through her body and lifting her mind as she looked back in fondness.

She felt Reina's hand gently land on her shoulders. "To a new adventure?"

Rei nodded, finally turning her head away as they walked away. "To a new adventure."

The afternoon was warm, making their trek a little sweaty. Rei was thankful that she had the foresight to change from her longsleeve and leggings, going for a plain black compression shirt and spandex shorts instead. She felt rather plain compared to Reina, who was dressed to a tee and looking like a model as usual, but her nerves and excitement took over for her. The train ride couldn't pass quick enough, and by the time they reached their stop she was desperate to get to wherever it was they were going. Once she was in direct sunlight however she began to slow down, keeping pace with Reina instead of pulling at the metaphorical leash, no longer surging with excitement.

Much to Rei's surprise, the apartment complexes morphed into housing residences, the buildings getting larger and more grandiose the further they walked. By the time Reina turned onto the proper street Rei's eyes were about to fall out of their sockets by the way she looked around at everything. "Nee-san… you live in an area like this?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reina wrinkled her nose in displeasure. "My parents actually gave this house to me. It'd be more rude to turn it down, so I've learned to live with it."

"... Impressive."

"And scary, right?"

"Definitely intimidating."

"Don't worry! All our neighbors are very nice. You'll like them."

Rei nodded stiffly, looking around at the houses. A lot of them had well maintained front yards that were landscaped to perfection. In fact, all of them were nothing short of beautiful, ranging from very western with hedges and other bushes all the way to a more traditional aesthetic with rocks and minimal designs. One house across the way had multiple bonsai plants, all perfectly manicured and presented along the front wall, Rei peering in as she passed the entrance.

"Well, here we are!"

Pristine, white washed walls and a green roof peered over the cement front wall that had a narrow entrance, guiding toward the walkway up to the house. It was a mansion, if Rei had ever seen one. All the houses were like that, each one distinctive in architecture and looking more like custom homes than anything else. It was like Rei had just opened one of those home decor magazine, the pristine presentation screaming designer. She hesitated at the entrance, slightly unsure of everything. It felt too grand, too nice.

But Reina strode forward confidently, taking her key out of her bag and unlocking the front door. "Come on! Let's find some lunch. I'm pretty sure we have some leftovers from last night. Or we can make cold soba! It's pretty warm…"

Stepping through the entryway and removing her shoes, Rei took a moment to take in the view. The house immediately opened up into a massive living room, a high vaulted ceiling with modern fixtures hanging down catching her eye the most. If she had any doubts that she was in some sort of home magazine, the interior had solidified that concept. She followed after Reina, hauling the suitcases up the stairs with moderate difficulty. At the top was a long hallway, Reina heading to the left. "Your room is over here. I thought about giving you one closer to me, but I thought you'd want your privacy…" Opening a door at the very end of the hall, she gestured for Rei to enter before her.

Rei gaped, mouth open wide as her jaw dropped. The room was huge, looking like a master bedroom with all the space. There was a queen sized bed on the far side, along with various other furniture all pushed to the walls. At least the floor was hardwood, just like the floors back at the orphanage, although these ones look distinctly new and unmarred by various dents and scratches that described general wear and tear throughout the years. Reina rolled the suitcase she had carried over to the foot of the bed, sliding the handle down before she turned around to face Rei with her hands on her hips. "Well?"

The high school girl was still standing in the doorway, although she slowly entered the room as she looked around. It was a fantasy. "It's huge."

"Right? Honestly it was so lonely living here at first. That's why I'm glad Hotaru came to live with me, and now you're here too. The house is gonna be so much warmer with both of you around now!"

She was almost certain that it was Reina who made the house warm, what with her vibrance and whatnot that could take up an entire room. But she just nodded instead, Reina flouncing out of the room. "I'll let you unpack. I'm gonna find us some lunch!"

And just like that, she was left alone. Sucking in a deep breath she sighed, swinging her hands as she walked over to the suitcases. Might as well get to work. She towed them over to a set of drawers next to the closet, opening them up and getting to work. It was simple, mindless enough work, but that left her mind to wander.

Reina was rich. Rei didn't know how she didn't guess that much before, since she had enough information to go on. Her parents had a near monopoly on textiles specifically used for hero costumes, and Reina was in on the family business, at least now that she seemed to be reintegrating and returning from running away. But for some reason Rei hadn't seen it coming. Perhaps it was because Reina didn't act like a rich kid, wasn't snobby to those that she easily could have considered beneath her feet. All Rei's life, her interactions with rich kids had been negative, usually ending in fights that then circled back to someone blackmailing the administration into punishing her again. Reina was living proof that there were good people in the world, who sought to do even better not despite her circumstances but because she understood just what her position was.

Had Reina been like that before she had met Hotaru? A snotty rich kid who was self absorbed in her world? It seemed impossible, what with the way she carried herself now, but it wasn't a stretch. Hotaru, another orphan just like Rei, had changed her girlfriend's world for the better. It put a smile on Rei's face as she went about her work, placing folded shirts in the proper drawers and organizing everything as she navigated her thoughts.

By the time she finished Reina had bounced back into her room, knocking on the door and peering in from the doorway. "Finished?"

Rei nodded, getting up from the floor. "Yeah. Just finished."

"Perfect! Let's eat. I'm starved."

* * *

The rest of the day had passed quickly. Lunch had been a quick affair while also serving as a reminder of Reina's terrible kitchen skills. She was essentially unable to operate anything beyond a microwave and a tea kettle, so they had broken out bowls of instant ramen, much to Rei's amusement and delight. They had slurped their noodles at the kitchen counter, giggling as Reina took the opportunity to describe some of her worst and most embarrassing moments in this kitchen and other moments beyond, including the time when she had caught the toaster on fire back when she had been in high school. Even in a new environment, where she didn't even want to breathe on some of the polished surfaces, Rei began relax little by little. It would take her some time to get used to her environment, but slowly her heart started calming down, anxiety dripping away. The fact that this was now her home was slowly seeping into her mind. She would be fine.

After their meal she had brought her school supplies down to the living room, sitting on a futon on the floor as she worked at the low table. Reina sat on a couch behind her, tapping away at a computer as she began to look at work projects, a pair of round framed glasses on her nose as she stared at the bright screen. Getting to work the two of them lapsed into a companionable silence, Rei occasionally turning around or poking Reina with the back of her pen to ask questions. They would work on a few things together before going back into silence. The afternoon had passed quickly, Rei eventually stretching up into the air and falling backwards onto the floor. Looking out the massive floor to ceiling windows she realized that the sun had just set, darkness falling all around. Was it already evening?

The sound of a key jiggling in the front door made its way to Rei's ears, the door opening not long after that. The two inhabitants looked toward the door, standing up as a willowy girl with transparent hair slid through the entrance. Looking up with iridescent eyes, she smiled. "I'm home."

"Welcome home!" Reina vaulted over the couch, nearly tripping over herself as she skipped to the door, taking Hotaru's bags and placing a kiss on her cheek. "Rei is home too!"

"I remember." Her voice was low and sultry, head peering around Reina to find the aforementioned girl before finally seeing her slowly making her way to the entrance. She smiled, holding her hands out as she brought the girl into a tight hug. "Welcome home."

"Aren't I supposed to say that?" Hotaru just laughed, taking off her shoes and storing them away.

Reina could be heard rustling through the grocery bags in the kitchen. "Oh, did you buy more pota-pota?"

The newest entrant scowled as she made her way to follow her partner. "Don't touch that! You took from my stash the other day, I know it."

"Awww, babe…"

"That face won't work on me." Hotaru called out to Rei. "Rei-chan, do you mind helping me? Reina is useless and I don't trust her with a knife."

"Fine, fine, fine, I get it. I'll move." Reina moved out of the kitchen, dramatically huffing for show just as Rei stepped in, blinking as she watched everything. Hotaru had already pulled on an apron from the side of the refrigerator, sorting the items from the grocery store and putting things in the fridge.

"Can you start cutting the green onion? Cutting boards are in the thin cabinet to the left of the stove, knives on top."

"How do you know I can cook?"

Hotaru only smiled cryptically. "Takes one to know one."

It was a hilarious poke, enough to make Rei grin as she began to prepare everything, laughing to herself at the joke. Within minutes the kitchen was transformed into a culinary wonderland, steam and scents wafting through the house. Where her girlfriend was a tragedy when it came to cooking, Hotaru was a genius; even Rei had to admit that her katsudon was on par or even better than Midoriya's mother.

Dinner was filled with laughter and light banter, Rei watching as Reina and Hotaru talked about their days and joked playfully. They incorporated Rei, Hotaru asking about U.A. and everything that she had been learning. She relayed the story of the capture the flag incident, much to her two listeners' delight. By the time they had finished, absolutely stuffed to the brim, Rei was relaxed in her chair, a warm feeling in her chest.

So this was what it felt like to come home to a real house, to a family. With a smile, she imagined that she could get used to everything rather quickly. Clearing the table, she was pushed away as Reina took care of the dishes. With nothing to do for the three of them any longer, Rei poked her head around to Reina. "Reina? I'm going to do some work out stuff before I sleep."

"Sure. Use the backyard and whatever else you want! Don't go too hard."

Waving Reina off, she bid farewell to her new guardians, the two wishing her a good night as she left. Jogging up the stairs she headed to her room to change, exchanging her shorts for black leggings and changing into a sports bra crop top, throwing a black jacket on top. Realizing her boots were left downstairs, she debating going for them before she gave up. It wasn't the first time she went barefoot; in fact she preferred it, able to grasp things with her feet if all else failed, which it sometimes did. It was a shame that fighting barefoot as a hero wasn't logical, unless you had a quirk which made them insanely tough. If anything else, it would also make her landings softer. She didn't want to disturb her new neighbors just yet, and she didn't trust herself to make absolutely silent landings with her boots. Opening one of her windows she shimmied out onto the ledge before pulling herself up onto the roof, padding up to the peak and looking out around her.

The night was quiet, some bugs and birds softly chirruping in the background, the air just cool enough to make her thankful for her jacket. The tiles beneath her feet were still a little warm from the day, but she knew that they wouldn't stay that way for long. Stretching out on top of the little peak of the roof she carefully watched her balance as she stretched her legs, making sure she was warm enough before taking a few steps back. Readying up, she sprinted down the roof, leaping across the street to the other side.

Even if there wasn't much variety when it came to roof height, there was no shortage of strangely shaped roofs and houses, making the terrain quite different. With the additional challenge of silencing her landings as much as possible it was enough to keep her on her toes, her mind sharp as she watched out for anyone who might see her running around the neighborhood. What would these rich people think if they saw a five foot tall hooligan, all dressed in black, running circuits on top of their roofs? She had to think that Reina would not be very happy with any phone calls about her disturbance, but that was if they even caught her. With a roll of her eyes she soared through the night, breathing in the cool night air as she broke free. Chirasaki's lessons on how to soften her landings would definitely come into play and get practiced in this place.

She wasn't really determined to get anywhere in particular yet, stopping every few houses to take in her surroundings and orient herself, making note of potential pathways to run in the future. She also watched for yards with animals, one house in particular having a very fluffy dog that yapped its head off once it heard her. Hearing its owners call for it to shut up, but to no avail, she couldn't help hissing at it for fun, watching it cower at the noise. But then she had taken off, before anyone could see her.

Dogs. Annoying little brats. They were worse than children.

It was nearly an hour before she began to make her way back. Breaking into a sweat she had tied her jacket around her waist, stripping down to her sports bra. No one could see her anyway, and she didn't care. It basically covered her entire upper body from her ribs up, including her shoulders. She had jumped to her side of the street, running and leaping over the houses on the way up. Most of them had flat or relatively normal roofs, letting her practice some aerials and flips as she moved, trying to push herself in the final stretch.

But the house second down from Reina's had a particularly high roof that was normal, partially obscuring her vision for the next house. She had sprung from the edge of that roof, aiming for the roof of the next house for her landing. But the last third of the roof had suddenly sloped and ended, leaving a sudden gap at the end. Realizing her mistake too late, she panicked in the air, clipping the edge of the roof and sailing straight into a tree that sat on the edge of the property.

Crashing through the branches she clawed blindly in a desperate attempt to slow herself. "Shit!" Nothing she did could save her, except marginally slow her descent as her butt collided into one of the lower branches before she toppled over the edge, landing on her back. The wind was knocked out of her, and she was left gasping for air as she tried to recover. She had hit her head too, the world spinning as she slowly picked herself back up. She had to get out of the yard before someone came to check and see what is was-

Too late. A sliding glass door from the second level opened, footsteps pattering out onto the veranda. Internally Rei groaned, closing her eyes. She was screwed. Trying to keep as quiet as possible, she hoped that they would just go back inside and dismiss the sound as some animal crashing through the backyard.

"Oi, who the fuck's there?!"

Rei groaned again. She knew that voice anywhere. She couldn't believe her fucking luck, so she simply sagged on the ground, everything still spinning. Her back was bleeding, torn open from hitting that last branch and snagging on something sharp, most likely a branch that had already been torn before she had collided. That wasn't the only part of her that was bleeding; there were small laceration all over her body. She was tired, sweaty, bleeding, and exhausted.

This was the very last person she wanted to see right now.

She could hear him approach the edge of his patio, peering over the edge. Rei sighed. There was no point in hiding anymore, unless she wanted to be at risk of him using his quirk to try and smoke her out, thinking she was a burglar or an animal. So instead she closed her eyes and tried to keep her voice as level as possible to hide the pain. "Fuck off, Bakugou."

Silence. Then, more muttering. "Akatsuki?" He had lowered his voice to a whisper, but she could hear the disbelief. "What the hell are you doing?"

The world was still spinning, and she felt slightly sick. Had she hit her head that hard? Closing her eyes, she tried to relax, but it was incredibly difficult with her back bleeding out. This wasn't a regular injury; she needed to clean it before it got infected. But Reina would only panic, and she didn't want to bother either her or Hotaru. Sucking up her pride, she groaned before whispering as loudly as she could. "Do you have a first aid kit?"

"Oi, Katsuki! What was that sound?"

"Just a stupid cat!" He yelled back at someone from inside the house, making Rei growl in both pain and irritation as his comment.

"I'll claw your stupid ass hair out for that."

"Shut up," he hissed back over the edge. "Can you get up here?"

Rolling over, Rei tried to pull herself together. The world was still spinning as she walked over to the wall of the house, looking up and squinting. "Where is here?"

A phone light suddenly turned on above her, making her hiss and cover her eyes with her hand. "Okay, okay! Give me a sec." She had to swallow hard, keeping her stomach together as she prepared for the jump. Crouching slightly, she jumped up, uncertain of how high she actually went. The world spun, and she stuck her hands out, panicking a bit.

Two hands stuck out and grabbed her wrists, pulling her in a different direction. She slammed into the guard rail, trying to muffle her groan in pain. But she had made it to the balcony, and she slid her body over the rail, hitting the ground with a thump. Everything hurt, and a hiss of pain left her mouth.

"Shh! Keep it down!"

She wanted to glare at him, but instead she rolled onto her stomach. At least now her back felt a little better. "I know!" By now the adrenaline was fading as the pain was coming in, the icy hot stinging piercing her back and bringing tears to her eyes as she grit her teeth. She heard his footsteps walking away, disappearing into the house for a minute before returning, closing his bedroom door. The smell of antibacterial wipes made its way to her nose moments before it touched her her back, making her hiss as quietly as she could. She wanted to kick her legs against the ground from the pain, but all she could do was wait as quietly as possible for the pain to go away.

"How the fuck did this happen?"

Now a bit humiliated at her clumsiness, she banged her head into her arms, hiding her face. "I was running a circuit, and I miscalculated how far your roof extended."

"I didn't even think you lived here."

"I didn't." Another wipe attacked her skin, and she sucked in a sharp breath as he scrubbed at her skin. "Just moved next door today."

"No shit." The biting tone of his voice matched the harshly cold and clean sensation on her back, warming away as it was replaced with gauze and allowing Rei's body to relax marginally now that the worst of it was over. He said nothing more as he padded the wound, although she shifted after a few moments.

"Oi, you want this to open up and bleed more?"

"Fast healing. I just need like," she paused, trying to estimate a healing time. "Fifteen minutes. I'll be fine here."

He scoffed. "Hell no. Stand up."

"Didn't you just tell me not to open it again?"

"Stop being stubborn and let me help!"

She stilled as he spat out his whisper, letting him pull her arm out and up as he practically dragged her to her feet. With a hiss and a wrinkled nose she followed him unsteadily into his room, head finally starting to clear as the room spun a little less. He practically dragged her along, letting her go as he pointed to his bed. "Lie down."

It was only now that her senses were coming back to her. Particularly the fact where she realized her classmate was shirtless, only dressed in a pair of shorts. Her brain short circuited for a moment, slowly shaking her head as she tried to figure out what she was doing. "But I'm sweaty. I can't lie on-"

"Lie the fuck down, or I'll make you!"

If he hadn't been trying to keep as quiet as possible, Rei was sure that he would have been yelling at her at this point. Following orders she slowly sat down, inhaling sharply before holding her breath as she slowly shifted from a seated position to rolling onto her stomach, lifting her legs up onto the bed carefully and slowly.

Turning her head to the side, she watched as he sat down at his desk, flicking his desk lamp on and pulling out a textbook. She watched him for a while, eyes lingering over his back as he hunched over his desk. It was after a few moments that he finally felt her staring, turning over his shoulder to look back at her. In the low lighting she could see him clearly, gold eyes honing in on his red. For a moment they simply stared at one another, until she heard his chest rumble. "Stay there."

"Fifteen minutes," she countered. He only turned back to his book, seeming to ignore what she had to say. She watched him for a while longer, but now that she was lying down she had to admit that she was exhausted. She had woken up early for work this morning, what seemed like forever ago now that she was here this late in the evening, and everything was finally coming down on her. Eyes fluttering, she hadn't intended for them to close, but sleep claimed her, if just for a while.

* * *

_Cold. Darkness. Water, all around. _

_She couldn't sense anything, her eyes closed as she floated, sinking further and further. It was pulling her down, deeper and deeper, but she couldn't seem to care at all. It was comfortable, soothing even…_

_Suddenly her body lurched, seizing up for air-_

Rei gasped for air, inhaling sharply. She was still lying on her stomach, head turned to the side as her eyes flew open. There was a cloud of hair just to her side, lingering in her peripherals, and she craned her neck down a little bit to see Bakugou's head rather close to hers. He was sitting against the frame of the bed on the ground, something in his hands that she couldn't see. At hearing her sudden gasp he turned his head, scanning to see what was wrong. Their eyes met. Upon seeing that she was awake he relaxed a bit, brows still slightly furrowed but otherwise rather calm.

Catching her breath, Rei moved a hand to her back, gingerly pressing down on her wound. Much to her expectation it had sealed up, dried blood around where it had been open and new skin puckering underneath. Slowly she pushed herself up to a seated position, placing her legs on the ground to the left of Bakugou. Blinking blearily, she looked around the room for a clock, eyes finally landing on a set of flashing red numbers…

Was it actually past midnight?

She glared at the boy seated beneath her and to the side. "I said fifteen minutes."

He only rolled his eyes. "You looked like shit."

Wiping a hand over her face, she resisted the urge to groan. Hopefully Reina hadn't checked on her, otherwise her guardian would be panicking over the fact that she had gone missing for more than a few hours. Slightly groggy at the fact that she had essentially taken a two hour nap, she slowly began to pull herself together. The moment she began to stand up Bakugou shot up to his feet as well, watching her cautiously. "Don't push yourself."

"I'm fine." Peeling the gauze away from the wound, she turned her back to show him the proof. "See? All healed."

She hadn't expected his fingers to brush over the wound, grazing the puckered skin with surprising gentleness, as though he was worried of pushing too hard and opening it again. Swallowing hard, Rei stiffened, shuddering at the motion as his fingers brushed back the other way. When his fingers left her back her skin suddenly felt much colder in their absence, making her inhale slowly as she calmed her nerves.

It was he who moved first, moving to the sliding glass door and opening it as quietly and slowly as possible, the door gliding surprisingly well. But it was enough to break Rei from her stupor, feet moving automatically as she moved from the wooden floors to the textured floor of the balcony outside. Back into the night air she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she turned around to face her rescuer.

Half to her surprise, his face was suspiciously absent of any hints of anger, of irritation or inconvenience. It was the same look he had thrown at her before, the indescribably gentle look that was so different from the anger he always showed everyone else. Tilting her head, she stared at him in confusion. "Why do you look at me like that?"

Her question didn't seem to provoke much of a response out of him, save for a blink before he sighed to himself, stepping forward and raising his hand out. Much to her surprise, his hand rested on her head, ruffling her hair affectionately and briefly before his hand dropped to his side. It was so fast she had almost missed it, but the gesture that she usually hated from everyone had been oddly satisfying coming from him. His lips twitched as he stepped back into his room with that same look on his face.

"If you can outwit that damn Deku, you can figure it out."

She reactively scowled at the lack of an answer, but she forced herself to wipe it off her face. Muttering a small goodnight she turned toward the guard rail, hopping onto it briefly before leaping onto the roof across the gap. Skulking along the roof she made her way to her still partially opened window, slipping through quickly before turning around. Bakugou was still waiting outside, watching her until she made it safely inside. He nodded as she raised a hand in parting, finally going back inside and shutting the glass door, disappearing behind the reflection on the glass.

Finally on her own, Rei heaved a sigh of relief and of tension. Just what was all that again? And what exactly had he meant when he said that she could figure it out? She wasn't that smart when it came to interpersonal relationships, since she wasn't really the most outgoing or the most social. How was she going to figure this one out?

Shaking her head, she scrounged for a pair of sleep clothes before making her way to the bathroom that was connected to her room. She was sweaty and disgusting, and she wanted to sleep. Thank goodness there was still one more day in the weekend. She was going to sleep as long as she wanted, and then figure everything out, or at least try to. After cleaning up she threw herself onto the bed, pulling the covers out from underneath her and heaving a huge sigh of relief.

She was out in seconds.

* * *

AN: asldfjlk;sahsldfk

I'm alive!

(barely)

Anyway, back to serious business.

If someone told me that this story would get more than a hundred views, I wouldn't believe them. I seriously cannot believe how many of you have favorited and followed this story, and I'm so thankful for you every day. I promise to continue working on this story as best as I can for all of you. Please bear with me as I continue to make edits to the summer camp arc!

Just as a heads up for what I'm doing, I'm starting to write a Kingdom Hearts fic as well as outlining a FFVII story (since I got inspired by the new trailer for the FFVII remake, and also I've done god knows how many false starts on a KH story). Is anyone interested in reading them? They're nowhere near ready, but I hope to have them ready at least by the end of summer, if not earlier.

**Thank you for your reviews! **

**ansegiel**: Lol I try! I mean, it would be a little mean if I held out on any of those fun interactions; we're already on chapter 17 now... But I'm glad you like it!

**yaoi4adollar**: Yeah, I've always been a fan of trying to figure out how Bakugou's soft side would play out. Can't be an angry little lit fuse for forever! Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy my writing; I'm working very hard on it.

**dragontamer64**: Good luck on all your finals! I'm glad you found the last chapter wholesome; I'm trying to figure out a balance between sweet moments where they're not so bad and moments where my shitty children just tear one another apart and go at it lol. And thank you for consistently reviewing! I'm always excited to see what you think about the chapters.

**xenocanaan**: Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter, and look forward to the next few. They're a bit... fluffier for my taste, but all the same, I hope you will enjoy them.

**UWU**: I'm happy that you've enjoyed Rei's progression. Sometimes it's hard for me to track exactly who's doing what and how fast/ slow the characters are changing, so it's good to hear feedback on that!

**Sheridan111000**: Thank you for reading so far! I hope that the next chapters live up to the hype :D


	18. Neighbors

Chapter 18

Neighbors

* * *

If Rei had any hopes of sleeping in the next morning, they were shattered by a far too energetic Reina knocking brightly on her door at seven AM, entering after hearing a barely coherent "come in" from Rei and jumping onto the bed. At this Rei had immediately been woken up, the movement of the bed completely shocking her awake and having her shoot straight up, putting her on high alert as she became hyper aware of everything at once. Reina had sheepishly laughed and apologized for giving her a heart attack after seeing Rei's panic, Hotaru lingering in the doorway with a smile as she watched the two interact.

Rei wondered exactly how Hotaru had withstood morning Reina for this long; the latter was the textbook definition of a morning person, waking up around six in the morning naturally with all the energy in the world. It was a wonder how her girlfriend, who was definitely not a morning person no matter what time she fell asleep, had managed to not strangle her after all these years.

But at least there was a reason behind the early wake up call. Reina apparently had plans to have the three of them go shopping in Shibuya, and thus had awoken both house members up at at time she considered to be logical, in order for them to hit the stores as early as possible. She had actually been ready since six AM, but Hotaru had enough wits about herself to restrain Reina from bursting in Rei's room at the crack of dawn, persuading her to wait at least another hour. It was with slight confusion and yawn that Rei found herself dressed, fed, and at the door to the house at half past seven, the trio beginning the trek to the train station.

As they stepped into the street, Rei couldn't help but look at the house next door, now that she knew who lived inside of it. She could see now the error she had made, the way that the roof sloped in no way symmetrical across the vertical axis. She could also see the balcony that she had climbed the night before, where she had laid out on the ground as Bakugou had cleaned her wounds thoroughly. A flush came to her face briefly as she recalled the way they had said goodbye and her awkward realization that he wasn't fully dressed, but she turned away and focused on ahead, trying to will the butterflies to die down. At least neither of her guardians had seen anything, so with an internal sigh of relief she walked on.

Today wasn't a day to relive her most embarrassing moments thus far in her life. It was a day to be dragged around by her mentor through the streets of the most fashionable city in Japan.

… Hooray?

At least when she woke up in the morning, there wasn't even a scar left behind from her untimely fall into the tree in Bakugou's yard, the new skin already blending in almost perfectly with the rest of her. Her back still ached, most likely bruised from the impact, but she could play off any stiffness as a result of working out. The more she walked, the looser it became, much to her satisfaction. But the lengthy train ride made her stiff all over again, muscles straining as she stepped off their transport and onto the platform, walking up and down stairs to get to their destination.

At least she had a feasible excuse as to why she was stiff. She would have to live with her mistakes until she healed completely.

Never before had Rei been so thankful that Reina had gifted her with clothes for her birthdays and Christmases. Stepping into the streets of Shibuya was clearly a fashion show, the most trending place in all of Japan as men and women alike walked around with their chins up, determinedly strutting around like they owned the place. Dressed in a pair of shorts and a sheer blouse that fluttered as she walked, Rei felt like she could at least blend in, especially as she walked with her two guardians who looked as though they belonged immediately. Reina snaked through the streets, leading them to her favorite boutiques and chattering away with the workers as they began to shop.

With Reina socializing with almost every person around her, Hotaru stuck with Rei as they sifted through various racks. Rei was completely uncertain of what she wanted to try, mostly shuffling through the clothing quickly and trying to determine if it was even worth trying on. The fiscal bracket was higher than she was comfortable with, eyes blinking in placid horror as she fingered the price tags before dropping them down. Hotaru seemed to notice her discomfort, pulling out a few tops and dresses as she held them up to Rei for a moment, eyes narrowed with scrutiny as she either put them back or draped them over Rei's arms. "Reina's covering today. She wanted this to be a sort of 'welcome home' gift for you."

"Uh, okay."

It did not feel okay.

But Rei ended up following Hotaru around the store, her pile of clothing slowly getting larger and larger until a worker came around and took the load off of her arms, mentioning something about setting up a fitting room for her. She had to admit that, quite like Reina, Hotaru had an eye for fashion and already understood Rei's style. The iridescent eyed woman had picked mostly black ensembles, although there were a few simple patterned pieces and some stark solid colors that weren't terribly bright or flashy, sticking with subtle items that boasted interesting cuts. Rei simply followed along until Hotaru decided that she had seen enough, escorting the girl to the room and motioning for her to enter while she found a spot to sit just outside.

A few minutes later Reina finally made her way over, trying on a few things before settling down next to Hotaru, the two of them watching as Rei occasionally peeked out to show them the items she liked and ask their opinion. With a critical eye they would make comments, Reina occasionally checking seams and tugging on the clothes to make sure they were fitting right before either giving pass or a no go. They repeated the cycle over and over again, slowly accumulating a mess of bags that Rei secretly enjoyed carrying, even though they were beginning to get quite bulky and weigh her down. She hadn't really done something like this before, splurging on clothes and whatnot. There was still a bit of guilt that lingered at the frivolousness, but most of it was wiped away by the excited look on Reina's face as they wandered from store to store.

By the time lunch rolled around Rei was almost ready to drop. How in the world did Reina have so much stamina? Rei was no pushover, but this was really something else. The trio pulled into a cafe a few blocks away from the center, heading up a flight of stairs and securing a booth. Hotaru, who had the least amount of bags, made her way to the cash register to order food, letting Rei flop onto her seat with a sigh of relief. "I'm exhausted."

"Aw, shouldn't you have a bit more stamina?"

"This is different." Rubbing her hands up and down her forearms, she massaged the places where the bag handles had sunk into her flesh. "Much, much different from hero training."

"Is that so?" Hotaru returned with glasses of water, Reina nodding thankfully and sending her a loving look as she took one of the cups and put a straw into the beverage. Sipping slowly, she sighed as she backed away, sitting up straight. "Well, I guess I wouldn't know much or ever understand much about that."

"Much about what?"

Reina turned to Hotaru. "Rei said all this shopping is tiring, but it's different from hero training."

Hotaru's eyes blinked, shifting from sapphire blue to amethyst. "To be honest, I still don't know how you can spend all day shopping. It's tiring for me too."

"Ehh? But you never say anything…"

"That's because I rarely actually shop. You're the one who's a monster for having such a shopping stamina."

"Shopping stamina?" Rei blinked at the term.

It was Hotaru who smiled demurely. "It's definitely a thing."

"Honey, did you just call me a monster? That's so mean…"

Patting Reina's head consolingly, Hotaru simply maintained her neutral but pleasant gaze. "It's not something offensive if you agree with it."

The comment was enough to make Reina perk up again. "Oh, that's true."

Now that her girlfriend was content, Hotaru turned toward Rei. "Speaking of stamina, I forgot to tell you that I watched the sports festival. Congratulations; third place is an incredible feat."

Dipping her head, Rei smiled. "Thanks. But speaking of stamina, I'm afraid mine wasn't quite enough to match up with Todoroki-san."

"Todoroki…" Reina trailed off, her mind working as gears turned in her head. "Would that make him Endeavor's son? The number two hero?"

"Mm." Rei nodded. She picked up the glass of water, bringing the straw to her lips as she sipped the cool liquid, feeling refreshed as it slid down her throat. "He isn't much like his father though. He's quiet, but inside he's kind and thoughtful."

"It was an impressive fight," Hotaru commented, leaning forward on the table as she crossed her forearms. "The fact that you held up that long against someone who's a long distance fighter is a feat in itself, and you looked rather good doing it."

"Aww, that makes me sad I missed it." Reina sulked, leaning back in the booth. "I only saw that last fight between the ice boy and the explosive boy."

"Todoroki and Bakugou." Rei casually slipped in, in between sips of her water.

"Oh, that was Endeavor's son? Strange, I thought he would have fire powers like his father."

"He showed them in his second fight against that plain looking boy," Hotaru supplied, looking at Reina, "the one who broke his own body in the fight. But other than that, he only used the ice for the rest of the sports festival."

Reina's face lit up. "Wow, I missed a lot didn't I? But that last fight was really something, that Baka…" she trailed off sheepishly, looking to Rei for support as she grinned, "what did you say his name was?"

Suppressing a snicker, Rei covered her mouth for a moment before answering. "Bakugou." He would have been absolutely livid if he had heard what Reina had said, Rei already hearing his hands crackling off in irritation at the mispronunciation. She would definitely use that sometime soon with him in their texts. But Reina only brightened at her correction, unaware of Rei's thoughts.

"Right, him! His stamina and movements were incredible."

"He's in my class," Rei casually slipped in. Reina made a noise, impressed as Rei paused for a moment, making a connection. "Actually, pretty much everyone in the finals was from 1-A."

"Now that I think about it…" Hotaru trailed off, looking between the other two girls at the table, "Isn't that the name of our neighbors next door?"

"Who?" Reina blinked, a bit blankly. "The ones to our right? The house with the flat roof?"

"No, the other side, the multi-tiered green one."

Rei struggled to keep a straight face as her guardians began to stitch the pieces together, trying not to show that she already knew this for a fact. Hotaru sent a small glare to her partner, although it lacked a biting edge, more of a gentle reprimand. "Don't you at least remember our close neighbors?"

"Were they they ones that brought the green tea cake when we moved in?"

"Yes. Mitsuki and Masaru."

"Ohh, right!" The connection made, Reina leaned forward energetically, setting her drink down on the table. "The one with really nice skin and blonde hair! I like her."

Hotaru sighed, looking slightly relieved that Reina had remembered at least that much, the names finally matching with the faces. At least Reina could recall faces, even if she lacked the names sometimes. "Right."

"Come to think of it, we haven't seen them for a while. Maybe we should take them a cake!"

"We could. It certainly wouldn't hurt. We could introduce Rei as well."

Rei stiffened. Meeting the neighbors was one thing, but meeting the neighbors who happened to be the parents of one of her classmates? Even worse, the boy she was definitely having a crush one? She sat stiffly in her seat, unsure of what to do. She couldn't say no, otherwise they would suspect something. But it looked like she was too late, Hotaru turning a curious gaze on Rei. "Rei-chan, you look stiff."

"Is something wrong? Has that Bakugou kid hurt you?"

"N-no," she finally stuttered, setting her drink on the table. The glass was beginning to sweat, leaving a watery ring on the surface. She wasn't quite sure of what else to say, but it was certainly safe to say that her cover had been blown. A knowing look crossed Hotaru's face as she grinned.

"Rei-chan, is there something going on with you and Bakugou?"

Flinching, she blinked rapidly at the two women sitting across from her. Reina gasped. "Look! She's blushing!"

Her hands lifted to slap her face, covering her cheeks and eyes as she groaned. "Whyyyy…" Voice dragging along she complained, growling as she leaned her elbows onto the table to prop herself up. She could hear Reina's delighted laughter, could feel Hotaru's gaze as she grinned at their young ward. Of all the things she had expected to do today, undergo a public humiliation in front of her mentor and her girlfriend was not one of them.

"It's okay, Rei-chan," Hotaru started gently. "I promise we won't make fun of you."

"I don't! This is so adorable! I never thought I would see the day when you looked so flustered!"

Rei glared at Reina, but it did nothing to stop her mentor's wide grin and quiet clapping in front of her chest. Immediately her mentor began to pester her with questions, brown eyes never leaving Rei's face as she stared at her openly. "So, when did this start? What's he like? He seems so angry all the time; is he always like that?"

"Come to think of it, I sometimes hear explosions coming from their house." Hotaru crossed her arms over her chest. "From what I saw at the sports festival, he seems temperamental."

"Ehh, really? Rei-chan, why don't you like Todoroki-san instead then? He seems so much nicer."

Shaking her head, Rei's eyes fluttered upwards in irritation after taking in Reina's pout and Hotaru's careful gaze. The two of them put together made enough of a worried parent, showing concern over Rei's choice of interest.

On one hand it made her happy that they cared so much for her and wanted to know what was going on in her life, but on the other hand she was absolutely mortified that she had let this slip out of her mouth. She delayed her answer by taking a long sip of water, trying to brainstorm something to say by the time she finished. "Todoroki is nice, but he's just a friend."

"Aww, too bad. His hair is really something else. I wonder what product he uses?"

"Reina, focus." Hotaru nudged her gently, trying to keep their interrogation focused. Rei swallowed hard as purple eyes turned on her, locking her in her seat and preventing her from getting away, no matter how much she squirmed. "Rei-chan, is he a good person?"

She didn't need Hotaru to explain. The question was loud and clear, without being formally articulated.

_Is he good enough for you? _

She had to argue that she herself wasn't sure that she deserved anyone, but she rolled with it to please both Reina and Hotaru. "He isn't in the hero course for nothing," she began, though Rei knew it wasn't going to be enough of an explanation to satisfy the two women in front of her. Sitting back in her seat she sighed, trying to think of an explanation of why exactly she was so infatuated with her ash blonde classmate with crimson eyes. "He's smart, and he's strong. He just hides behind anger all the time. But I've seen what he's like, when he lets his guard down."

She fell silent, images of their moments in the empty classroom passing through her mind, the previous night how he had sat in front of the bed, keeping guard. There were times when words failed, and she was certain that it applied to Bakugou, leaving him with the responsibility of proving himself with actions. They were similar in that way, preferring to get the results before contemplating and meticulously considering every step, word, and plan before taking off. Hot headed, action driven, perfectionists they were.

Apparently it wasn't quite enough for Hotaru. But she simply nodded her head before speaking. "If he messes up, he'll have hell to pay."

"Eh?"

Reina elbowed Hotaru, earning a yelp from her girlfriend as she rubbed the offended spot with a glare on her face. But the former only turned to Rei with as much excitement as she had had before. "We'll support you! Do your best, okay?"

"Huh?" Rei had no idea what to make of Reina's odd statement, though it made her flush at some of the insinuations. "I'm not going after him! I don't even think he likes me like that anyway…"

Hotaru's face softened as she looked at the younger girl. "Never say never. If what you say is true, then you're lucky that you get to see behind that front of anger."

Reina placed a hand on top of Hotaru's the two of them smiling at one another. "Right! You just have to watch for the signs and be confident. That's how I got Hotaru, ne?"

She only received an eye roll, but Hotaru kept her hand in place. "Stupid. Remember how you thought our first date was just a regular outing?"

"Yeah, but I was the one who asked you out officially."

"You're so clueless sometimes. Should you really be giving advice to Rei?"

Pouting, she tapped Hotaru's hand. "So mean…"

At the exact same moment the food had arrived, platters of sandwiches placed in front of them as the three greedily dug in. Thankful for the distraction, Rei watched as Reina tried to swipe fries from Hotaru's side, the later smacking her hand away playfully as they bickered in a lighthearted manner. With a sigh she found her shoulders relaxing, not noticing that she had gotten rather tense during their roundtable discussion on Rei's love interest. That had gone… surprisingly better than she had expected. Then again, she had no experience with any of these things.

Rei had crushes in the past, but she had kept them to herself. No one wanted the rough girl who always fought and caught hands with almost every person that came across her path, the one with glittering golden eyes that feraly challenged and dared the other kids to try her. The boys in her classes only wanted the pretty girls, the popular ones, the ones who did well and giggled everytime they passed someone by, tossing their long locks effortlessly and huddling in packs. No one wanted Rei, the loner, the girl with an attitude problem that could toss anyone out of her path if she felt so inclined. She had tried to convince herself that it was fine, that she could survive on her own, that she didn't need anyone. But time and time again she watched as her crushes would ask out the pretty girls, flirting and holding hands with the model girls, even some of the plain and quiet ones, always leaving Rei out of the equation.

So she had isolated herself. If she isolated herself first and locked her heart up, then no one would be able to reject her and cause her pain. In middle school she had convinced herself that there was no time for such frivolous pursuits, every spare moment dedicated to improving her grades and her physicality so that she could prepare to enter a hero academy. She sincerely believed that she needed to forget everyone else and block them out in order to focus on her goal. And she had done so, successfully. But now that she had made it she stood at the crossroads once again.

She could pretend that she was still fine on her own, that she needed to strap down for the next three years and dedicate herself to her studies so that she could become the best hero possible. But slowly she had found herself making friends, stretching out her arms and grasping onto others as she made connections. It had begun with Momo, who had forced herself into Rei's life, dragging her out of her self imposed isolation and teaching her that she didn't have to go through it alone. Then Midoriya had come along, teaching her that she could start to trust others in her class as they went through the process together, acting as a unit. She could cast away her feelings for Bakugou, for everyone, but the seeds had been sown and the roots were buckling down, difficult to eradicate without causing her and others even more pain.

Life was better with friends, with connections. That was something that U.A. had taught her in her first few months, especially highlighted in the conclusion of the capture the flag activity where everyone had leaned on Rei. She wasn't hiding in the corner any longer; she had realized that people depended on her, and she could flip the script and depend on others as well. They were in it together. Her walls had weakened. In that moment, sitting in a cafe in Shibuya, miles away from home, she finally caved in.

She had a crush on Bakugou, the stubborn boy with crimson eyes that always knew what to say around her. The one who fought against her, who challenged her to become not only a better hero, but a better person. As she watched Reina and Hotaru bickering away a smile came to her lips. It was familiar but strange, watching the argument while simultaneously reminded of her own with a certain boy. It was like watching herself from a new angle, and it gave way to a small ray of hope in her chest.

It was there, sitting in the corner. Rei recognized it. She wasn't quite ready to water it and let it grow, but she was content to simply hold it in her hands, to let the jittery feeling wash over her and put a smile on her face as she sat in a daze. That was enough for now.

* * *

By the time the three of them had finished lunch they had devolved into at least three separate giggle fits, most notably after Reina had attempted to snatch a french fry but was countered by Hotaru forcibly shoving one into her mouth in an attempt to get her to stop. She had been so stunned that she had accidentally smashed her sandwich under her elbow due to a lack of coordination from her brain short circuiting, leading her to bicker with Hotaru and bargaining to switch sandwiches. As they had been distracted Rei had secretly stolen a small cache of straws, tearing off the tops so that she could blow wrappers across the table. The first one had smacked Hotaru in the forehead, leading to a straw paper war that ended with Reina sending a wrapper into the back of someone's head in the next booth over, the three of them unable to keep themselves composed as the middle aged man had stared at them in confusion and a bit of irritation. They had fled the restaurant soon after that, making their way into the streets and bursting with laughter at their escapade.

While some subjects had been dropped, Reina had remained insistent about taking cake to Bakugou's parents. Rei had been ardent about not going, or at least skimping out on the visit and going straight home when they got back to [city]. It felt strange and made her feel extremely self conscious and out of place to be walking into a stranger's house, let alone the parents of her classmate when their friendship was nowhere near that level. What would happen if Bakugou saw her in his house? She was certain that he'd be some type of angry, and he'd probably pester her incessantly.

Perhaps that was the part she was most nervous about; being insulted and trading insults in front of her guardians, both of whom knew about Rei's crush and were likely to scrutinize him closely. Rei was nervous about having Reina and Hotaru observe how their relationship worked, how trading snarky insults and wearing on one another's nerves was commonplace and a cornerstone of how they interacted. Would her guardians understand? Most likely not, since that wasn't how their own relationship worked.

Rei wanted Reina's approval desperately, no matter how much she tried to convince herself that she didn't need anyone to acknowledge her actions. She wasn't sure how Reina would interpret Rei and Bakugou's interactions, if she would be concerned and think that Bakugou was the wrong person and therefore disprove of Rei's feelings. She was nervous.

It was the reason why she had tried so desperately to convince Hotaru and Reina that she wasn't needed to visit the Bakugou residence. But the duo was already convinced otherwise; apparently they already had a running relationship with Mitsuki, and were relatively good friends. It only made sense in their minds that they introduce the latest addition to their family and catch up on the time that had passed. With that resolution, Rei found a permanent scowl settling onto her lips as she pouted and stressed over the inevitable meeting.

Hell, she would rather spend another five hours shopping with Reina if it meant that she could skip the meeting.

With one last stop at a famous bakery in Shibuya that Reina knew about in order to pick up a gift, the three set off to return home, carrying their bags and cakes triumphantly like conquerors. It was mid afternoon by the time they returned home, dropping their bags in the foyer as Hotaru shifted her grasp on the cake. "Are we going over now?"

"Yes! No time to waste." Rei could feel the nerves building back up, apprehension at walking over to their next door neighbors and meeting them officially. Who was going to answer? She certainly hoped it wasn't her classmate, otherwise she might die from the mortification of having her two guardians encounter his abrasive personality from the get go. She groaned as Reina shoved her out the door, putting up some resistance as the older woman grabbed her shoulders and pushed her along the path, Hotaru following them at a casual pace.

Balking at the entrance she almost tripped over the path with a yelp, glowering at Reina who only grinned brightly. The older woman practically skipped up to the intercom, pressing the button gleefully and waiting for a response, the comms crackling to life after a few seconds.

"_Oh, is that you, Reina?" _

Reina waved at the camera before backing away. "Just us, Mitsuki-san! We were in Shibuya today, and we brought cake!"

"_Oh, really? I'll be right out!" _

They waited for a few seconds, Rei's ears perking up as she heard someone scooting over to the door and quickly opening it. She stood stunned as she looked at Mitsuki, Bakugou's mother. She looked rather young, her ash blonde hair definitely something that her son had inherited. Energetically grinning she waved them on in, Reina dashing on in first with Hotaru following close behind, handing the white parcel to their hostess as she grinned in delight.

"How wonderful! I'll get some plates out so we can share." Red eyes turned finally to Rei, who shifted under her sudden gaze, a bit sheepish. "Oh? And who're you?"

"This is Rei!" Reina had finished taking off her shoes, standing in the foyer with a shit eating grin on her face. Brown eyes met gold, Rei watching as a glint came into Rei's eyes. She narrowed her own gaze in warning, a scowl on her face. "She's moved in with us, starting yesterday."

Rei entered the doorway, wiping her face of the scowl and bowing her head toward their hostess. "Nice to meet you."

"Oh, so well mannered! Not like my son. OI!" Turning sharply the woman yelled into the house, making Rei flinch from the sudden change in volume. "Katsuki!"

She could hear a disgruntled yell in reply from upstairs, but Mitsuki only clicked her tongue, shaking her head as she closed the door, moving past the group and beckoning for them to follow her into the living room. "Come in! Make yourselves comfortable. I'll grab the plates." Reina followed the woman, striking up a conversation as they moved away. Rei was left to tug off her shoes, following Hotaru and sitting down next to her on the couch, looking around at the space. Compared to the outside the inside was surprisingly home-y, comfortable and not as pretentious as the outside might suggest.

Hotaru sent a knowing smile to Rei. "Nervous?"

Rei scoffed, folding her arms over her chest as she looked away, raising her eyes to the ceiling indignantly. "I can't believe this…"

The two women returned quickly, dishes set out as Mitsuki cut the spongy green tea roll, divvying up the slender cuts as Reina passed around the plates and dessert forks. Rei accepted hers wordlessly, cutting into it and taking a bite, relishing in the fresh cream and light flavors that mixed together.

Perhaps this was worth it to at least get a bite of cake.

"It's been a while since I've seen you two," Mitsuki began, her face energetic and beaming. Rei was beginning to see why Reina liked the woman, the two of them absolutely syncing in terms of energy levels and outgoing personalities. "How is everything going?"

Reina immediately launched into a recap of the past few weeks, though she skipped over the part where she had been in the hospital and instead focused on her work returning to her parents' business. Mitsuki was all ears, clearly a familiar topic as she began to ask about precise details that went far over Rei's head. Instead she simply sat quietly to Hotaru's right, the woman with iridescent eyes sitting in the middle of the three as they all sat across from their host. Eventually the talk shifted to inquire about Hotaru and her work, the more reserved woman still speaking up and talking with enthusiasm about her placement in another prefecture.

It was only inevitable that Mitsuki's attention fell to Rei at the end of the line, the girl swallowing as red eyes settled on her. They were familiar, but the look she received was completely different, one of friendliness, delight, and genuine interest. "So, what about you, Rei-chan? Where are you from?"

Much to Rei's misfortune, she had just put a bite of cake in her mouth, eyes widening at the sudden question as she tried to chew and quickly as possible. Fortunately Reina took the lead to cover for her digestion. "Rei is from Kumo City. There was an issue with her housing situation, so I decided to step in."

"Ohh, that's very sweet of you." Mitsuki smiled, sitting up straight as her fork hovered above her plate. "How old are you?"

Finally finishing her bite, she had opened her mouth to respond when an explosion sounded from above, temporarily cutting her off. Mitsuki looked to the ceiling, anger beginning to surface as shouts could be heard from above. "Oi! We have guests, Katsuki!"

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE MY GLASSES?!"

Rei blinked. Bakugou wore glasses? Steps sounded on the stairwell in the hallway, just outside of the doorway. Reina and Hotaru blankly stared at the entrance while Rei simply kept her composure, popping another bite of cake into her mouth, completely unphased. Nothing much was different from school to home, that much was apparent. She was the only one staring forward instead of at the door, although she could hear his footsteps slamming on the floor as he turned the corner all the same.

Mitsuki lost her temper, yelling at her son as he appeared. "What's wrong with you?! Can't you lower your voice for once in your life?!"

"Who's talking now, huh?!" Rei felt red eyes shift to the newcomers, eyes landing on her. "What the hell're you doing here?!"

She felt Hotaru stiffen next to her at the rude, abrasive, comment that accompanied a rather accusing looking finger, but she simply raised her middle finger at him unflinchingly, chewing her cake thoughtfully and still refusing to meet his gaze as she stared lazily ahead. Reina reached around to smack her shoulder at her blatantly crude display, but it only evoked a smug smirk on her lips as she continued to eat her food.

"Don't yell at our guests! Don't you have manners?!"

The reprimand from his mother only made Rei's grin widen, a shit eating look that only set her classmate off more. She could hear his hands crackling with his quirk, but nothing phased her at this point. There was no longer any fear, any traces of that emotion wiped as soon as she egged the blonde haired boy on, knowing full well what his reaction would be. Lifting her plate in feigned innocence, she stared at him. "Cake?"

It was effective in egging him on, making him turn sharply on his heel as he stormed out of the room with an exasperated shout, muttering something to himself about how annoying she was. She listened to him rustling about the house before storming back up the stairs, completely ignoring the other two women that had accompanied her and slamming his door shut behind him.

Well, that could have gone worse.

Although, from Reina and Hotaru's perspectives, she wasn't sure how they would interpret their meeting.

Mitsuki sighed, though still visibly irritated. "You'll have to excuse him. His personality's been insufferable."

"It's fine. Rei went through her insufferable phase in middle school, although arguably," Reina put considerable emphasis in that word as she sent a warning glare to her young student, "she's still going through it now." Rei stared at the corner of the room in an aloof manner, although she still couldn't hide the way her lips twitched upward at everything that had just happened. She was still riding on the waves of satisfaction at disarming and catching Bakugou off guard in his own house, swallowing her piece of cake in satisfaction.

"So, how do you know my son?"

Rei blinked, the attention back on her quite suddenly. "School," she finally uttered, much to Mitsuki's surprise and recognition.

"Ah, I see it now. You were at the sports festival too!" A bright grin came back to her face. "Good to know that someone's there to put him in his place!"

Her comment garnered another small, smug grin from Rei, her next bite of cake hovering above her plate as she returned the sentiment. "I don't really do much. He walks into most of my jokes anyway."

The sudden burst of laughter caught Rei off guard, making her freeze in place. "That's good to hear! Please continue to knock him down off his high horse if he gets too insufferable. I leave it to you."

"R-right…" Rei blinked. That had been rather… unexpected. Still, hearing that she had permission from Bakugou's mother to mess with him brought out a sudden rise in her more mischievous side. This was the first time she was given the green light to mess with someone, and from their parents no less.

Only at U.A. could something like this happen.

Smiling, she popped another bite of cake into her mouth as Mitsuki turned back to Reina.

"I like her! You three need to visit more often."

The conversation moved forward steadily from that point, Rei mostly sitting on the sides and taking everything in. Showing up at Bakugou's house wasn't as terrible as she had expected. In fact, the outcome had been rather desirable, even if she hadn't seen it coming. Knowing that she had won Bakugou's mother over, the little voices in her head began to cheer, a bit sadistically.

There would be no holding back from this point forward.

* * *

Careful to not overstay their welcome, the trio had left after nearly thirty minutes of conversation and laughter. Returning home, Hotaru dragged Rei into the kitchen to help with meal preparations, Reina sitting on top of a counter in the corner as the trio continued to talk. It had mostly been teasing about Rei's interaction with the boy, filled with Reina and Hotaru's commentary on their reactions to Mitsuki's son. They hadn't been entirely surprised, or at least Hotaru hadn't given what she had witnessed during the sports festival, but they were delighted in the fact that apparently Rei was able to catch him off guard and hold her own ground against him.

They knew that Rei hadn't ever really been a pushover, but it boosted their confidence in her that she would be able to hold her own ground against the boy. It was the closest that Rei would get to approval without them explicitly saying it, although she could see it in their eyes that they were relaxed and assured in their decision.

The teasing both grated on Rei's nerves while also giving her something to laugh about, a strange topic that had suddenly been breached after another long and exhausting day. To be honest the entire weekend had pushed her, and she simply wanted to get a good night's sleep before heading back to school the next day.

After dinner she said her "goodnights" to her guardians, heading back into her room. But just because she was tired didn't mean she could skip out on training. Dressed in another sports bra and a pair of spandex shorts she headed back onto the roof, ready to begin. She had already decided that she wasn't going to run another gauntlet, the trauma and embarrassment from the previous night preventing her from running. Instead she decided on the next best thing; balance and endurance training on the roof.

Back with her bare feet, she walked along the peak of the roof. The entire house was built in a "U" shape, with Rei occupying the west wing on the second floor and Reina and Hotaru taking the east. The roof was accordingly built in a similar fashion, meeting at the apex as both slides were angled at a gentle downward slope, letting rain slide off in both directions. The meeting point stood up a bit, raised from the roof and providing a sort of balance beam that she could walk along, extending quite a distance. She walked up and down the length, gauging exactly how far it extending and estimating what she could do with the space.

After a few minutes of warming up and getting her blood pumping she finally began to ramp up the pace, beginning with walkovers and cartwheels along the thin walkway, just barely wider than her foot. Eventually she began to add other aerials, twisting and vaulting through the air and gradually picking up the pace. She strained to keep her footsteps as silent as possible, watching how she landed and figuring out the best ways to adjust her momentum. Faster and faster, she broke out into a sweat, making things all the more difficult as she occasionally slid from the slick tiles on the roof, barely catching herself in time on a couple occasions. But she only continued diligently, undeterred.

It was after she was satisfied with her progress that she finally began to slow down, working her way to focus on absolute balance and strength. Placing her hands down on the slender makeshift platform she slowly kicked her legs into the air, spreading them so that they allowed her to balance herself in the air. Legs slowly stretching out until she was in the splits, she began rotating them around her body, going from left to right as she strained to maintain her balance on her hands. There were more than a few times when her strength and balance wavered, legs occasionally dropping down as she lost her center of balance, but she simply kicked her foot back up and stared from where she had left off.

The feat took nearly two full minutes, extended as she began to hit different poses that stretched her back and tested her core in different ways. She had been doing fine, although her hands were definitely getting sweaty and slippery, her golden eyes staring at a singular point on the roof as she focused.

"Oi! What are you doing?"

Squeaking in surprise her legs tumbled over her head, sending her sprawling onto her back as she hit the tiles with a groan. She had just been fortunate enough that she had maintained her center of balance, ensuring that she didn't roll to either side of the roof. Panting and catching her breath, she turned her head to look at a downward angle, scowling as a familiar figure came into view. She hissed at him as she slowly picked herself up, crouching on the roof. "What do you want?!"

"Huh?" It was obvious that he couldn't hear her from the distance, but she didn't want to raise her voice any more than necessary. Before he could even react or ask her what she had said, she leapt over to his roof, landing softly and scampering to the edge before dropping herself down gently to land on his balcony. He was slightly started at her sudden closeness, but he regained his composure as she folded her arms across her chest, leaning against the railing.

"What do you want?"

He looked slightly sheepish, hand subconsciously moving to the back of his neck as he avoided her gaze. "Nothing." His eye twitched. "Thought you learned your lesson last night."

Rei felt her heart flutter at the mention, but she refused to let it get a rise out of her. Instead she rolled her eyes, looking away and staring at the half open glass door in front of her. "I was running last night. This is different."

"Don't lie. I saw you slip multiple times."

Multiple times? An eyebrow quirked up, elegantly arching on her face. "How long were you watching me?"

"Don't make it weird. I saw you from my desk."

She tilted her head, nodding as she considered his answer. It seemed to check out, since there was clearly a line of sight up to where she had been practicing. With the moon full and high in the sky, her outline would have been illuminated fairly well. Deeming his excuse acceptable, she shrugged her shoulders. "Can't let up on training. I missed a lot in Hosu."

"Hah. Not as much as I did." The scowl returned to his face, a dark look as he reflected upon his internship. He turned on her after hearing a chortle from the girl, eye twitching as she poorly tried to hide it behind her arm. "The hell're you laughing at?"

"When you came back from internships… your hair…" She snickered as he rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"Whatever." It only made her laugh harder, but eventually she calmed down, a smile on her face as she stared up at him. Turning her body she offered her hands to him, smile only widening as he immediately set his right hand in hers. It was a habit now, the movement instinctual.

Much to her satisfaction, his forearms were in good condition. She instead turned toward his hands, massaging out his palms in different, methodical manners, feeling the way that they softened like putty in her grasp. There was a soft breeze that barely moved the trees, just enough to signify that the cool night air had arrived. She was still only dressed in her bra and shorts, but she was still hot from the workout she had finished. Or rather, her workout that had come to an untimely, sudden close. Not like she was complaining though. Standing in comfortable silence, she would take this moment as it was.

Now that she didn't need to focus as much attention on his forearms, she was much more thorough with his hands. There was a lot more muscle on his hands and fingers than on her own, a testament to his quirk, how hard he trained, and the difference between them. Her own hands were rather strong, as she had built up a grip strength that was even stronger than a lot of boys. But in comparison to his muscular build she was slender and dextrous. She wondered if it had to do with how much sweat he secreted in his hands, naturally making them more built up for a multitude of types of endurance. Digging her thumbs and other digits into the muscles she felt as they slowly began to loosen up, even just a little. Once she was satisfied she switched to the other side carefully.

Silence, and a warm summer's night. She had taken her time, knowing that there was no rush, no places to be after this. As she released his hand she felt disappointment that their time came to an end, crossing her arms over her chest as she attempted to conserve her warmth while watching him flex his hands, rubbing them together.

They stood still, looking at one another as though unsure of what to do next. It was after a particularly harsh shudder surged through Rei's body from the cold that he moved closer, ruffling her hair just as he had the night before. This time Rei tilted her head into his palm, snuggling closer to the gesture, eyes fluttering close for a moment before moving to the ground.

"Have you figured it out yet?"

Gold eyes looked up in confusion for a moment, searching Bakugou's own for a clue as to what he meant before her eyes widened, recalling their parting words the previous day. To be frank she had forgotten about that, shaking her head in reply as she looked away. He removed his hand from her head, making her frown in disappointment. In fact, he seemed rather disappointed as well, brows furrowed slightly as he looked down at her.

She didn't want that look on his face; she didn't want to disappoint him, after all the trust he had put in her.

"No… But I will."

He exhaled sharply through his nose, a reserved and slightly more refined snort. "Then hurry up."

She smiled. "Okay."

With a nod he moved back toward his room, a sign that the conversation was over, even though Rei wished she could stay longer. But she was freezing, and she wanted to get a good night's rest before school the next day. Whispering goodbye, she jumped onto the railing, perching for a moment before leaping over back to her roof. Wiggling back in through her window she turned around once she got inside, locking eyes with red orbs that shimmered even in the dark. He nodded once before sliding his door closed, disappearing back into his room, much to Rei's disappointment.

She had lied. She had a good idea of what Bakugou meant, what he intended to say without words. But she wasn't ready to accept it yet. Rei was still struggling with what she felt towards him, and she couldn't move past her own emotions that she grappled with until she knew what she felt for sure. She knew she was stalling. But if she stalled, then things could remain just the way they were, in this safe zone where she could avoid heartbreak and damage.

Rei wanted to stay in this state forever, but she knew that something would change and soon, whether she wanted it to or not. And only she was responsible for which way the pendulum would inevitably fall first.

* * *

_**Bakugou (9:29 PM)  
**__How's your back_

_**Bakugou (9:35 PM)  
**__I know you're still up_

_**Akatsuki (9:36 PM)  
**__I was showering stupid_

_**Akatsuki (9:37 PM)  
**__But it's better. The scar's gone. Just stiffness today_

_**Bakugou (9:37 PM)  
**__Who the hell're you calling stupid?_

_**Akatsuki (9:38 PM)  
**__You. Obviously. Baka-gou_

_**Bakugou (9:39 PM)  
**__I hate you so much_

_**Akatsuki (9:41 PM)  
**__:3_

_**Bakugou (9:42 PM)  
**__Stop bothering me and sleep_

_**Akatsuki (9:45 PM)  
**__You texted me first_

_**Akatsuki (9:46 PM)  
**__Turn your vibration off_

_**Bakugou (9:48 PM)  
**__Whatever_

_**Bakugou (9:48 PM)  
**__Night_

_**Akatsuki (9:50 PM)  
**__Good night_

* * *

AN: I'm super sorry; I had planned on putting this chapter up yesterday, but by the time I got home and cooked dinner and everything I was super wiped and it was late. Sorry about that! But here's some fun Akatsuki and Bakugou interactions.

I feel like every time I go to write these notes, I forget everything I wanted to tell y'all...

**Another update on plot things and such and where I am in the writing process for this story**. I'm just going to spoil it a bit for now; I was trying to include the movie in the story, but I'm just not able to figure out how I want to write it (I outlined for days, but the actual writing just isn't happening). As such, I'm going to be removing it temporarily and perhaps re-adding it as a special chapter later on. A lot of you really enjoyed that special fantasy ending chapter that I did, so I'm thinking of adding more special chapters as well as we go along. To be honest, I've been procrastinating a bunch of writing for this story because I was so stuck on that movie storyline, so I'm going to be temporarily scrapping it in the hopes that I will be motivated to write the rest of the actual core manga/ anime plot. I will try my best to advance the plot now and work hard to write more content! Please be patient with me as I figure these things out.

**Reviews, reviews, reviews. Thank you for your reviews!**

**dragontamer64**: I know it's a week late, but best of luck for your finals! I'm glad that my comments and story can make you laugh; I do try to incorporate elements of humor because that's just a part of my style as well. Please rest up and enjoy the summer as we finally make it into summer break! (technically I don't have a summer break; I actually have even more classes more frequently over the summer due to the intense nature of my program). And I totally get scrolling to the bottom to see my responses; it's why I really do try to personalize my responses for reviews. I'm thankful for all my readers, and I hope that I show that when I respond.

**yaoi4adollar**: Honestly, writing soft Bakugou is kind of hard because we don't get to see too much of him being a soft little noodle (mostly just screen caps and soft faces, and not a lot of dialogue), so I'm glad you think it's in character! If you like this sort of content, I think you'll like the upcoming few chapters. Please look forward to them!

**ansegiel**: Originally when I first outlined this story, Rei was going to be a complete solo player. But I really like the idea of found families, and I thought it would be a lot more wholesome if she had at least someone to rely on instead of making things completely hopeless. I strongly believe that, no matter where we are in life, there will always be at least one person who cares, and it's our responsibility to both find those people and hold on to them as well as recognize when we are those people for someone else and never let them go.

**Gender bend deku**: Hahaha, I will do my best to release weekly now. I'm aiming for Sunday night, but sometimes (like last night) my schedule won't allow it since I work weekends and technically I don't ever had a solid end time for work (long story). I don't know if I mentioned this before, but while this is definitely a Bakugou and Akatsuki pairing, it will probably be a long time before they're "officially" together, if at all. I'm more interested in working through character development and waiting until the right time for their characters and drives to align before forcing a pairing together. Sorry if this is agonizing! But please trust that this is the pairing that I have chosen :D

**CocoaFirefly**: Thank you so much for all your reviews! It was so awesome and heartwarming for me to get all the notifications of your reviews when I woke up. I am glad that you're enjoying this story, and I will do my best to try and stick with a regular updating schedule, although it might shift due to the nature of my coursework for school and regular work.

**ILikeFoxes828**: Thank you! I'm glad that you are enjoying this story. It's kind of crazy to look at the big picture and see how much I've written. I'm happy that you are looking forward to future content; I'm actually very excited for the next few chapters, so I hope you will be too. Thank you again!

**If you like something, please leave a review! Thank you so much for reading so far :D**


	19. Refuse, Admit, Concede

Chapter 19

Refuse, Admit, Concede

* * *

A new dawn, a new day.

Rei was not a morning person. She made it work, given the fact that she had little choice in what time the day began for school, but if given the choice she would sleep until at least ten or eleven o'clock in the morning. She was at least grateful that, now that she was at Reina's house, she now lived marginally closer to U.A., taking twenty minutes off her travel time compared to when she lived at the orphanage in the next prefecture over.

And yet, despite all of that, she had nearly slept through her alarm, the sudden realization once she was coherent enough making her jolt up in bed and speed through her morning routine in order to get out the door in a timely fashion.

Scrubbing her face fastidiously and throwing on her uniform, she thanked her lucky stars that she at least had the brains to pack her backpack the night before, slinging it over her shoulder before running down the stairs, trying to not slip on the hardwood floors as her socks threatened to send her careening in every direction at once. Hands fumbling as she attempted to tie her shoes as quickly as possible, she barely noticed Reina coming up behind her, glasses on her face and the scent of coffee wafting over to Rei's nose.

"Late?"

"Not yet, but almost." Standing up straight and turning around to say goodbye, she blinked as Reina handed her a piece of buttered toast, a smile on her face.

"Have a good day."

Rei grinned, taking the toast and stuffing it in her mouth. "Fanks mum."

"That's nee-san to you!"

She shook her head and smiled, closing the door behind her and taking off at a brisk pace down the street. Running her fingers through her hair, she tried to at least make herself passable until she got to school. Maybe if she begged Yaoyorozu, her friend would make a small comb or brush for her to use before Aizawa, or even worse, Iida, berated her for an unkempt appearance.

So engrossed in her thoughts and panic, she startled when Bakugou suddenly appeared next to her, falling into step as she passed by his house.

She looked at him in surprise and confusion, but he merely attempted to level her with a glare. Strange. He tended to arrive fairly early to class. By her estimation, he should have left already. But here he was, giving her a challenging look as she stared back at him in surprise, eventually making her shrug her shoulders and shake her head.

Blinking, she took the toast out of her mouth, speaking hesitantly. "'Morning."

He grunted, rubbing his eyes and blinking blearily, clearly still somewhat tired. Rei grinned but she said nothing as she chomped away at her toast, choosing to the let the silence stretch between them as the both of them continued to wake up. The morning was bright and slowly becoming warmer as they walked along, doing nothing to help Rei wake up more. Direct sunlight and heat tended to make her a little sleepy. Reina had joked that she was like a solar charged battery, the comparisons of Rei and cats seemingly endless in that conversation as she and Hotaru tried to come up with the ways that Rei was actually a feline mammal.

So sue her; even if she didn't have a tail and obnoxiously obvious ears, she was definitely cat like in a multitude of ways.

Having Bakugou around made her thankful, Rei falling behind slightly as he began to naturally navigate around the train station, weaving through the crowds and leading the two of them to the proper train. She had her eyes peeled as she chewed the last pieces of her toast thoughtfully, noting landmarks and taking mental notes so that she would be able to find her way later. At least she wouldn't be even later on her first day; if Bakugou was leaving at this time, then that meant that Rei would make it on time as well.

By the time their train made it around it was standing room only, though thankfully not jammed packed quite yet. Bakugou still hadn't said a word, although he was looking much more awake now that they had been moving and standing around for quite some time. He had pulled out his phone, looking at something that Rei didn't bother caring about. She didn't want to be nosy. Instead she watched the view outside the train pass them by, looking at the city with half her wits about her, absorbed in her own little world as the morning passed in rosy and warm awakening.

It was the start of a new week. Now that she thought about it, they were well into June; there was around a month until finals, and while she was constantly keeping up on her studies she definitely needed to start reviewing for the big test sooner than later. She considered asking Momo or Midoriya to study with her, since both of them seemed pretty competent in hero laws and ethics, one of her weaknesses. She was able to get the big picture, but some of the more technical aspects tended to slip past her, and she wanted every point she could get.

Hearing their stop over the intercom, Rei had turned towards the doors only to balk at the amount of people outside. As soon as the doors opened it was like a torrential flood of bodies suddenly began moving, Rei powerless to determine where she was going and unable to see clearly beyond all the tall shoulders above her. She tried to watch where Bakugou was going, but he was slowly starting to pull ahead, slipping away from her as the crowds began to tear them apart. Voice frozen in fear, she reached a hand out to grab something, some part of him in an effort to not lose him or let the distance get too wide, her fingers managing to grasp his shirt as she poked him on the back near his left side.

It was enough to grab his attention, his head turning back for a fraction of a moment and eyes widening marginally as he realized her predicament. His left hand reached back to grab her wrist, pulling her forward and closer toward him so that she no longer fell behind. The station was packed with bodies, but no matter how much Rei was jostled around his grip never loosened, grasping her firmly as he powered through the crowded mess.

Her heart fluttered in her chest, pounding away at his touch. She always felt so small compared to him, his single hand encircling around her wrist easily. She wondered what was going on in his mind. Did he feel as discombobulated as she did whenever they touched, or when their eyes clashed?

Tugging her all the way through the station, he didn't let go until they climbed their way up to the streets, releasing his grip slowly as he looked over at her. "You good?"

Soft. She smiled, a bit nervous. "Yeah. It's busier than the train I used to take."

He only nodded, walking forward and letting her fall into pace next to him, the two of them walking casually toward U.A. as the crowds began to thin out. The smile never left her face, even as they drew closer to the school campus. Much to Rei's surprise he never broke away or ahead of her, instead keeping in time with her steps. She had expected him to leave and stop associating with her the moment they turned onto the street for the school, but instead he stayed with her the entire way, all the way into the shoe room.

Testing her theory, she intentionally took her time to unlace her shoes and take her feet out, organizing her locker and putting her slippers on. There was no way he would wait; her shoes took forever compared to most people, who could easily slip their shoes on and off. He would definitely-

"Oi, what's taking so long?"

Head whipping to the side, gold eyes widened as she made eye contact with the boy in question, completely startled and caught off guard. He had shoved his hands into his pockets, staring at her grouchily at having to wait for so long. Embarrassed, Rei shut the door quickly, shuffling over to him apologetically. "S-sorry."

He only rolled his red eyes, now leading the way as they climbed the steps to their classroom. From then on he seemed intent on ignoring her, walking just a few steps ahead and not turning back. The only hint she received that he was still considering her was when he opened the door wide, pausing for a moment for her to catch up and giving her a look to close it behind her. She scowled at his bossiness, but followed through anyway. Neither said a word as they made their way to their desks, sitting down and beginning to operate in their own worlds.

Rei sighed as she sat down. As if the morning couldn't get any weirder.

"Good morning."

Looking up, she smiled gently. "Good morning, Todoroki-kun. Did you visit your mother?"

Silver and blue eyes looked startled, catching Rei slightly off guard as she hesitated. "Did I… say something wrong?"

"No." Clearly something was wrong. Tilting her head, she watched as he simply sighed. "You just changed suffixes. It caught me off guard."

"Oh." She hadn't really noticed, the change had just rolled off of her tongue. Did it have something to do with the fact that she and her guardians had been gossiping and trash talking over the weekend? "Sorry."

"No, it's fine. I… prefer it."

His answer brought back a genuine smile to Rei's face. "I'm glad. How's your mother?"

He shrugged his shoulders, but didn't seem to be adverse to the question, much like she had originally anticipated. "She's well. I'm learning a lot from her."

"That's good." Stifling a yawn, Rei stretched her arms up lazily. "I wish we had another day. I'm beat."

The two of them could have passed for a pair of cats in another life, blinking slowly at one another in lieu of speaking. Eventually Yaoyorozu entered the classroom, bringing her usual charm and light hearted conversation with her, the two girls beginning to talk about their weekends more in depth. It was as though nothing had changed, though everything had. Rei made a mental note to talk with Momo later to catch her up on everything.

Just then Aizawa walked into the classroom, signifying the beginning of the day. Materials out and ready on her desk, Rei twirled her pen in her hands.

Another day at U.A..

* * *

"How do you feel about eating outside today? The weather is wonderful, don't you think?"

Momo's comment caught Rei by surprise, slowing her footsteps and her pace as they picked up their lunch trays. Momo had ordered something… rather fancy. Rei didn't know what exactly it was, just that she had never seen anything quite like it before. She herself had picked up a tray of cold soba, the perfect summer food for the hot and humid June air, more than excited to dig in. Today's math class had been a push with introductory calculus materials, Rei's head still trying to wrap around everything. To be quite frank, she was going to have a lot of catching up to do this weekend.

But she only nodded, letting Momo lead the way. The two of them walked out of the cafeteria, roaming through the half empty corridors and eventually coming to an exit that deposited them at the back of the main building. Walking around the corner, searching for a satisfactory spot, the two of them made their way to a bench that sat in the shade of the building, the perfect respite from the blazing sun in the sky. Settling down and beginning to dig in, the two ate in silence for a few moments, relishing in the meal for a minute before getting into more conversation.

"I forgot to tell you," Rei began, after slurping down a few bites. Buckwheat noodles really were the best, and the chilled green onions on top were crisp and cool. She was almost distracted by the food, temporarily side tracking her before she continued. "I've moved out of the orphanage to my mentor's house."

"How wonderful!" Momo seemed nothing but earnestly ecstatic, pausing in her eating and setting her chopsticks to the side. Even while her best friend ate properly and kept her mouth clear while speaking, Rei continued to munch away, a stark contrast to the regimented girl next to her although Rei tried to be polite by covering her mouth as she chewed. "When did this happen?"

Swallowing, she kept her hand over her mouth, unsure if there were green onions in her teeth now. "This weekend. It's a lot closer to school now, so I don't have to wake up so early."

Momo nodded, preparing another bite but stopping so that she could throw in one more comment before popping the food into her mouth. "Where do you live now?"

For all the time and space that Momo had, Rei had already shoved another mouthful of noodles into her mouth. She couldn't help that she was a fast, and sometimes messy eater. She had tried to be more conscious of herself around her friends now at school, but old habits were hard to break. Scavenging against almost twenty other kids at dinner time had raised her to eat her portions quickly so that no one else could sabotage her. The rapid pace was engraved in her. It was in this moment that she realized exactly how much of a pig she was being, so she chewed carefully for a while before swallowing, taking a moment to take a breath before answering. "In Mustafu. It's a nice area." Images of Bakugou as her neighbor flashed through her mind, but she pushed them away.

"Oh, I see!"

Actually, now that she thought about it, who was she going to walk back home with? Usually she walked to the station with Momo, but if Bakugou was still acting weird, would he want to walk home with her? She scowled. There was no way. This morning had been a fluke.

A really, really, really bizarre fluke.

One that definitely made her heart beat faster.

Damn it.

"Tsuki-chan, why are you scowling?"

Damn it again. She had been caught, Momo looking at her in concern. Rei shook her head, letting her face smooth over. "It's nothing really." The silence fell back over the two again as they took another bite of their respective meals. Rei was careful to chew at a slower pace, letting the various flavors wash through her mouth, finding a new appreciation for the dish and relishing in the cool taste on her palate.

After a few more minutes, Rei looked over to Momo, who had been strangely silent for a while now. She was usually all talk, excited to make conversation with everyone at their table and usually never one to let a conversation die. But she was picking at her food in a way that was… strange.

Rei blinked, setting her chopsticks down for a moment. "You seem… oddly quiet. Is something," she paused, blinking, "on your mind?"

She had never really been good at coaxing people to talk, nor at approaching people who were nervous about things. In that sense, her interpersonal skills were relatively horrible; although she at least tried to approach things with sensitivity and a level head, she wasn't the best at being able to comfort people who were emotional or sad. But fortunately, this didn't seem to be the case. Biting her lip, Momo finally lifted her head to look at Rei.

"I don't want to be terrible forward, but is there something going on with you and Bakugou?"

Rei blinked once. Then twice. Had she really heard Momo right? She knew she had. But that only begged the question: what had led her best friend to that conclusion? Stuttering, Rei opened her mouth, but nothing came out. What was she to say?

It quickly became apparent that Momo felt awkward about the situation as well, raising her hands in defense as she sputtered quickly. "That is, I don't mean to press, and I'm sure there could be nothing going on at all, but I was simply curious as to why…" She trailed off, looking rather uncertain.

"Why what?"

Momo placed her hands back around her tray, looking to the food with sudden interest. "Last week, Jirou mentioned something about how Bakugou entered before you did, and how you were rather angry looking. I recalled that you grew rather frustrated. I just… wanted to know if there was anything that I should be concerned about." At this she seemed to grow a bit more determined, looking back at Rei. "Not only as your friend, but as class vice president, I must make sure that everyone is comfortable and is working together. Please let me know if there is something I can do."

Her outcry had been rather unexpected, forcing Rei to reevaluate everything that had just been said. She was more than flattered that her interactions and reactions had raised some concern from the black haired girl next to her, that someone would pay that much attention to her well being and be willing to confront someone about it. But her concern was misplaced; there was nothing going on between her and Bakugou, except for the feelings in her chest that were ready to explode at any given moment and the uncertainty she felt around him now. If anything she was confused on her own, floundering around and simultaneously looking for an answer to save her from her plight while completely unwilling to do anything to help herself.

Groaning, she placed her chopsticks down and buried her face in her hands. The embarrassment was too much to bear. What would Momo say? Would she tell Rei that she was looking in the wrong direction, that she shouldn't like someone like the explosive personality in their class? Worse, would she tell the others? Rei couldn't handle the potential for mass embarrassment and shame. She was ready to implode from the futures she foresaw in her head, her imagination running wild.

Bless Momo and her pure heart, she simply sat, watching in concern as Rei seemed to crumple as the rug was yanked from beneath her feet. She simply sat there, giving Rei the time to process everything and attempt to conjure a coherent answer, letting silence speak louder than any words she could provide. From between her hands, still blocking her face, Rei grumbled. "You're going to laugh."

"Laugh?"

Rei nodded, eyes closed behind her hands. "I hate myself."

"Tsuki-chan, is everything alright?"

"No," she moaned dramatically. "I hate myself and I hate everyone, and I hate that stupid Bakugou."

A hand gently rested on her upper back in a supportive manner. "Is something wrong? Is there anything I can do?"

She had to laugh. It was more of a scoff in irony at the situation. Yaoyorozu could do nothing in this situation. Rei had brought this upon herself. "Not unless you can make me something that can make me not have feelings. God," she laughed half to herself, feeling rather spiteful about her entire situation, "I hate this. Feeling feelings is the absolute worst."

Momo only began to rub circles on her back, making Rei feel even more pathetic as she leaned over her half finished soba. "Do you… have feelings for…"

"Yes." Rei groaned again. "Can I go die in a hole now?"

"What is so wrong about having feelings for someone? It's a wonderful feeling."

"Maybe, except I feel ready to die." Finally she moved her hands up and away from her face, still leaning forward and letting her forehead rest on her fingers and palms. "I don't want to feel like this. I feel jittery and anxious and," she swallowed hard, "scared."

Lifting her hand away, Momo set her tray to the side on the bench, leaning forward on her palms as they rested on her legs. "Tsuki-chan…" Reaching forward, she pulled Rei's food tray away as well, setting it next to her own. Rei immediately hunched over further, now that there was no worry about her uniform falling into her meal.

"I feel stupid. And I feel like everyone's going to make fun of me." She couldn't stop. If Rei had any reservations of telling anyone, they went out the window. Momo had the courage to ask her if something was wrong, and Rei knew that she was trustworthy and a good friend. She could keep a secret. If not, well, then Rei would craft a revenge so dastardly that it would make the class shiver in their seats. But her mouth opened, unable to contain her feelings any longer. "I don't even think he likes me back. And if anyone finds out, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to die alone and drop out of U.A. from humiliation."

"I'm sure that such a thing won't happen."

Rei nodded her head, acknowledging Momo's more rational statement. "It won't. But these feelings, they won't go away. I feel like I'm going to explode, but I don't want to know what's up ahead. At least, if things stay the way they are, nothing will change." She sighed, running her hands over her face again. "Everyone will remain the same. I don't want things to change."

As expected, Momo hit the nail right on the head. "You're scared of losing the friends you have now."

What else could Rei do but nod in agreement? "Yeah."

Her companion sighed, a slow exhale as she placed a hand on Rei's knee. "I can't tell you what to do. But as your friend, I'll always be here for you. Your secret is safe with me."

It was enough to make Rei's head jerk up in surprise and gratefulness. "Really?"

"Of course. That's what friends are for, right?"

Sniffling, Rei grabbed Yaoyorozu's hand back, much to the girl's surprise. Golden eyes looked up to meet cobalt in thankfulness and relief, the smallest bit of tension easing from the strained looked she had on her face. "You're the best. The absolute best."

Momo smiled a bit sheepishly, uncertain if she deserved such praise. But Rei was nothing but genuine, sitting up straight and heaving a sigh in relief. "Thanks, Momo. I feel a bit better now."

"I'm glad." Turning away for a moment, she handed Rei back her lunch tray, which was accepted greedily as the two began to dig back into their lunches. There was an air of trust, a new layer that had been added on to the two, a sort of knowing that could only be created by the trading of secrets. Even if Rei had been the only one, she knew that she could trust Yaoyorozu. The gut feeling was there. What had she done to deserve such a friend?

As Rei popped another mouthful of noodles in, Momo shifted in her seat. "If I may ask," Momo tread carefully again, "why Bakugou?"

It was a valid question, to be fair. Who in their right mind would even want to spend time around a person with such an abrasive and aggressive personality? But Rei only smiled. "He's not so… cruel as he may initially seem. He's very kind, and soft. At least," she defended and prefaced, "what I've seen. He doesn't really show that side around others."

"I see." Momo took another bite of a few vegetables, chewing thoughtfully and thoroughly before swallowing and speaking. "Though, I do suppose he does act much softer around you."

"Huh?"

Looking to her friend in surprise, Momo's eyes widened a bit. "Surely you must see it? It was particularly noticeable during the capture the flag event last week. No one has truly been able to work with Bakugou, let alone give him directions. The fact that you were able to direct your entire team, work with Bakugou, and win the entire round…"

"I get it, I get it." Rei waved her hand, already hearing enough. Even she had been surprised at the outcome, particularly when it came to Bakugou. She had already grappled with the fact that it was due to him deferring to her judgement that the rest of the team had followed, though she still was unable to fully comprehend and process it. "He just listened because he wanted to win."

"But who else has ever been able to do that with him?" Momo challenged her, getting slightly aggressive. It always seemed to be like that, when she knew that she was right or had at least a solid lead on something. When riled, Yaoyorozu was a force to be reckoned with. "He's always been the loose canon or the solo player. But he's different around you, somehow."

Rei rolled her eyes. "Don't get my hopes up," she said with a playful eye roll as she shoved another wad of noodles into her mouth. Momo giggled for a moment before composing herself.

"I suppose it would be a nice match. You two seem to work well together. I can't imagine anyone else even getting close to him."

Tilting her head back and forth in a noncommittal manner, she only grunted in response as she swallowed her food. Now that she was feeling more at ease, she also felt more inclined to give out more information. "Did I mention that he's my new neighbor?"

"Eh?!" Momo looked at her in shock, completely caught off guard as Rei tried to pick at her noodles, frowning as a few strands slid back onto the platter. Focusing on her plate, she tried to multitask.

"I moved to my mentor's house. Bakugou lives next door."

"Incredible." Rei blinked, looking to her companion at the starry tone in her voice. She was completely taken aback as Yaoyorozu seemed to be looking at her with a dazed expression, eyes literally sparkling with some romantic notion that made Rei a little unnerved. "It must be a sign! It's just like in the novel I just read! It's so romantic!"

Rei blinked, mind slowly stitching the pieces together. "You… read romantic novels?"

Momo pulled herself together, clearing her throat as she composed herself and returned to eating. "Well, that is to say, I do read a lot…"

Rei only grinned. "Nerd," she teased affectionately, smiling widely as Momo looked at her in surprise, shock morphing into understanding at the term used in endearment.

"Well, you should try reading some for yourself. I'm certain I could load you some of my copies."

"Maybe during our next break. I'm gonna be busy studying for finals."

"Oh, that's right." Momo paused for a moment, an idea striking her. "Would you like to study together? I know we already compare notes, but if there's anything else I can do for you, you only need to ask."

Shaking her head, Rei smiled thankfully. "Thanks, but I mostly need to just go over my notes. I'll probably ask my mentor for any additional help. I'll keep your offer in mind though," she added at the end, not wanting to sound like she was being incredibly dismissive or rude. But Momo only smiled in response, full of warmth.

"Of course. Just give me a call, or let me know."

"Actually, what did you think about today's math lecture?"

"Oh, about the different functions? It's something I actually read ahead about…"

* * *

"Alright! Today we'll be doing something a little familiar, but with a twist. Can you guess what it is?" All Might stood before them, as dramatic as usual. The class tensed up at the fact that they were about to do something familiar, waiting with bated breath as they watched their instructor. The mighty pro hero laughed, gesturing up toward the sky. "It's hide and seek, mixed with a race! That's right, a scavenger hunt gauntlet!"

Rei shivered with anticipation, rolling her shoulders as she could feel her muscles desperate to warm up. They had arrived back at Field Gamma once again, the labyrinth of metal buildings, pipes, and other odd structures a familiar and welcome sight after a couple weeks. All Might immediately launched into a rough idea of the activity. "The class will be split into thirds, with three rounds occuring. Each group will have the opportunity to be the seekers, while the others will hide. It's a race against time and your own team to see how many people you can gather! And remember, your goal is to deal as little damage to the buildings as possible! The hiders will be stationary, and you don't want them to get hurt by falling pieces or your quirks!"

"Oh, so it's like the rescue training we did back at USJ?" Kirishima seemed to get the idea, others nodding in time, although a dark look came over everyone as they looked at their teacher, recalling how All Might had disguised himself as a villain in the middle of the activity. Right after the actual villain scare at USJ not two weeks prior; how cruel had that been?

It seemed that All Might also felt the shift, quick to defend himself. "R-right, but remember that this time it's a race! Additionally, there will be no surprises. It will just be you in the field, I promise."

The class released a collective sigh at the reassurance, beginning to gear up in earnest. Most of the class seemed to be getting pumped, talking with their neighbors as All Might pulled out the traditional box of names. Like everything, lotteries were popular in this class, if anything to make things more fair.

"We'll be drawing lots again, just to make sure things are fair. There'll be seven people per team. Are you ready?! Team A!" He dug his hand in and out, reading names quickly and efficiently. "Todoroki, Ojiro, Bakugou, Uraraka, Iida, Aoyama, and Sero!"

Rei watching in amusement as the first group began to loosely cluster together. It was an impossible feat, what with Bakugou sneering ferally at Todoroki, who only stared back in blank confusion and slight indifference. Uraraka tried to stay as far away from Bakugou as possible, using Iida as a buffer between her and the boy. Ojiro and Sero at least looked slightly sheepish at the obvious tension boiling in their group, however one sided it clearly was, while Aoyama looked altogether unperturbed, as usual.

"Team B!" Without skipping a beat, All Might stuck his hand in the box dramatically, pulling out seven more names rapidly. "Midoriya, Kaminari, Akatsuki, Mineta, Yaoyorozu, and Jirou!"

Mineta let out a cry of joy at being placed in the same group as Yaoyorozu, who looked slightly sick at having to be paired even in the smallest ways with the short boy. Rei placed a hand on her shoulder in consolation, offering a small smile to her tall friend. "At least we're together this time." The notion cheered Momo considerably, even though it clearly meant that they would be competing eventually. Rei physically placed herself in between Momo and Mineta, sending a cold, withering glare at the boy. He at least had the smarts to shrink away, silenced almost immediately as Rei's traditional frosty and aggressive look came over.

"Right! That leaves Team C, with Kirishima, Tokoyami, Shoji, Hagakure, Ashido, Tsuyu, and Satou!" He nodded at everyone as they formed loose clusters, addressing them once again. "We'll start with Team A as the seekers. Teams B and C will have five minutes to hide themselves wherever they like. Remember, the seekers must physically tag you, but hiders cannot move once the opening buzzer sounds! Ready… Go!"

The two hiding teams burst off through the gates, spreading out as they went through the training field. Rei and Yaoyorozu stuck together for quite some time, heading to the furthest side of Field Gamma and using their quirks to sail over the buildings with ease. Looking to her companion, Rei shouted through the air. "Where are you going?"

Landing on a high roof, Yaoyorozu looked around before pointing to a water tower in the distance. "Probably to the base over there. What about you?"

Rei grinned, a feral look coming to her face. "I'm gonna find somewhere to barricade myself, somewhere tricky."

Shaking her head, Momo laughed before waving. "I would expect nothing less of you, Tsuki-chan." The two finally split, Rei jumping over a few more buildings. By her estimation she had at least three more minutes to find a hiding spot. It was enough to certainly get into trouble, the good kind.

Turning off the beaten path she began making her way down to the ground floor. If she wanted to make this truly difficult for the seekers, she would have to weasel her way into some inconvenient place, in order to disadvantage those who could jump or maneuver over the buildings. Team A had plenty of strong, fast individuals, and it would certainly be a bloodbath among them to get the most hiders. She would have to find something tricky, something that would make them think. She wouldn't be able to move from her spot once she found it or nestled in, but she could certainly make the seeker's lives a living hell.

She was certainly about to have some fun.

Eventually she burrowed her way down into a worn out warehouse, only managing to find an entrance after circling the exterior and finding an archway that was mostly obscured behind broken barrels and various beams that had fallen from high in the sky. She had wiggled through the puzzle pieces, trying to keep them as intact as possible and hiding her path, eventually emerging into the massive, empty space. There were streams of light coming through the fractured ceiling, but none big enough to fit a person through. High in the ceiling were fragments of catwalks that were long past due for a safety inspection; most of them looking ready to drop at the slightest breath or disturbance.

Rei grinned. It was perfect.

She managed to jump onto the most safe looking of the walkways, leaping up onto one that began to swing dangerously as soon as she landed. Her eyes bugged out as she froze, praying that it wouldn't suddenly collapse beneath her feet and releasing a sigh as the creaking and groaning eventually stopped. Carefully watching where she stepped, she began skirting her way around to the most isolated one, a slender walkway that hung in complete isolation near the center of the building. Golden eyes had been set on the prize from the moment she had walked in the room, now eyeing it carefully as she snaked her way over. Jumping from one walkway to the next, she was sent grasping for straws as the floor gave out underneath her feet. Hands latching on to a chain suspending from the ceiling, she could only listen as the sound of metal smashing into the floor below sounded, echoing in the large space. Wincing, she took a moment to breathe before planning her next move, swinging on the chain before leaping onto the next piece.

By the time the buzzer sounded, she had finally made it to the isolated piece, heart beating wildly in her chest. Laying down on the walkway it was just big enough for her to rest on top of, almost hiding her from view from below had the piece not been so skinny. The fragment continued to swing from the ceiling, disturbed from Rei's far leap toward the piece. Even she had been hard pressed to make her way to her hiding spot; it wouldn't be easy for anyone to get her.

If anything, the only people who would be able to reach her with relative ease would be Todoroki, Sero, and potentially Uraraka. It wasn't impossible for the others to reach her as well, but Bakugou and Ojiro in particular were going to have to compromise the integrity of the building, which went against what All Might told them. Grinning to herself, she closed her eyes, relishing in satisfaction at her job and lying on the cold sheet of metal. Up here in the ceiling, she could almost take a nap, if it weren't for the fact that there was also a chance she could fall…

Minutes passed. Rei yawned, stretching her arms up above her head in a cat-like manner as she dozed. There was a sunbeam that was hitting her from a crack in the ceiling, and it was rather relaxing, making her sleepy and contentedly drowsy.

"Fifteen minutes and the halfway mark! Still missing: Yaoyorozu and Akatsuki from Team B, and Tokoyami, Shoji, Hagakure, and Tsuyu from Team C!"

All Might's voice rang through the field, although it was muffled from Rei's location. Brows furrowing, her nose twitched in annoyance. Even if there wasn't any penalty for one team being found first, Rei found it rather aggravating that the other team was doing better than them. She would have expected that Midoriya would have found something creative, but then again, Uraraka and Iida would have a pretty good idea of where to find their friend. That was the cost that came with knowing people too well.

Still, she was doing quite well. She hadn't heard as much as a single footstep come within radius of the warehouse. Perhaps the seekers had combed through the beginning of Field Gamma; after all, Momo hadn't been found yet either, and the two of them had run to the far end of the field. Did some of the seekers underestimate how big the field truly was? It certainly did help to hide on the far end to buy some time, although it wouldn't have been good if everyone had hidden around the same area. For that, she was thankful, even if the others had been found first.

More time passed. Rei began growing restless. Had her spot been too good? She didn't think that it was the best. But All Might's voice rang through the field once again. "Only one hider remains on the field! Where could young Akatsuki be? The seekers have seven more minutes!"

The last one, huh? No one yet had made it close to her area. But after a few more minutes she began to hear footsteps and voices drawing closer.

"Oi, back off! I'm going in first."

"But I was the first one here-"

"Shut up! If you're not gonna go in, then get outta my way!"

Behind closed lids her eyes rolled. Iida and Bakugou, just her luck. Suddenly an explosion sounded fairly close by, making Rei jump as the ceiling shook. Her private island trembled, creaking barely audible from above as the chains groaned from the strain. If something like that happened again, she would certainly fall; the building was barely holding together as is, and if they weren't careful…

"Oi! Akatsuki! I know you're in here!"

A voice loud and clear as day, Rei internally groaned, turning her head toward the door and opening her eyes slowly. Sure enough, Bakugou had blasted his way through the entrance, clearing the barrels and obstacles in record time and striding in confidently as Iida followed a bit more tentatively, shouting at his brash decision.

"Are you serious?! You could have brought the entire building down on our heads from that explosion! The buildings in this area are particularly worn and on the verge of collapse-"

"Whatever, I didn't kill us yet. Oi! Akatsuki!" He shrugged Iida off, instead looking around for Rei. Eventually as he realized that there was nothing on the ground, he turned his eyes slowly toward the ceiling, eventually meeting a glittering pair of gold high above his head. He glowered, storming forward into the space. "Of all the places you could be, you have to choose the most inconvenient."

Rolling her eyes openly now, she folded her arms over her chest, still lying on the isolated chunk of walkway. "My job wasn't to make it easy for you. Hurry up and get me if you want."

"Huh? Hurry up and drop down then!"

"Directions were for hiders to stay put once the round began. Sorry, but I don't make the rules."

"Akatsuki-san, are you sure now's the best time-"

"What'd you say to me? You actually want me to come up and get you?"

At this Rei carefully pulled herself up to a sitting position, letting her legs dangle over the edge enticingly as she peered down. "Better hurry up, Mr. Hero. We don't have all day."

She could hear him growling from below, starting to crouch down and prepare himself to jump up using his gauntlets. She began to cringe, knowing that if he succeeded he would most cause the rest of the room to shatter, including her tenuously holding platform. But fortunately Iida stepped in front of him, holding him back for a moment. "Wait. If you use your quirk in here, you could bring the building down on us."

Sighing in relief, she internally shot thanks to Iida for being the voice of reason. But Bakugou only glowered, his eyes never leaving Rei's. "Screw that, I'm taking the lead on rescue points here and now. I'll get her down and rescue both of us from the building if that's what it takes."

Her own eyes widened at his words, suddenly uncertain of her entire plan. She had intended to make things difficult for everyone, perhaps give Uraraka a lead. But she hadn't accounted for Bakugou's absolute stubbornness and drive to win, no matter the circumstances. How stupid of her! And now, all she could do was watch as the chaos unfolded.

It seemed to happen in slow motion at first. Bakugou jumped into the air, propelling himself upward as he rose to Rei's height. It was exactly as he began to reach her level that she felt the straining hold of the walkway rattle and shake before snapping above her head. Her seat gave way, eyes widening as she lost her grip on everything, falling without warning and breath leaving her chest from the shock. She couldn't believe it; the exact situation that she had planned around and had understood, the one that she thought would provide enough incentive for her classmates to go around the problem, was now unfolding in front of her eyes and beneath her body. It was in that moment of horror, shock, and cold realization that a pair of red eyes locked with hers, mere feet away, a furious determination holding time still for a moment longer. Even in her fear that tried to hold her motionless under lock and key, she found her hands reaching out instinctively.

Then everything passed in the blink of an eye. A hand pulled her into his chest, her hands wrapping around Bakugou's neck instinctively as she buried her face in his chest, bringing her legs into her chest and curling into as small a ball as possible. In a moment she had felt fear wash through her, making her almost incapable of movement as her plans and ideas had been shattered in an instant. Closing her eyes she braced for impact, barely feeling a set of arms and gauntlets wrapping around her and pulling her close just before their momentum came to a complete halt. She heard a grunt, a rumble of the chest beneath her, and suddenly an arm swung out, the sound of metal hitting metal as a sheet tumbling from the ceiling was redirected. For a moment she remained frozen, breathing heavy as she slowly came back to her senses.

She had been saved. Again. This wasn't entirely new. Opening her eyes slowly and blinking, she lowered her legs and loosened her grip around his neck, dropping her hands and brushing herself off as she backed away. The hand still holding on to her was slower to back away, lingering on her back and drifting down her arm subtly as she pulled away, grabbing her attention as she looked up at the boy. Red eyes looked down in concern, a warmth in them. "Are you okay?"

His voice was so low, so quiet, she almost missed it. She was so shocked that she simply nodded, dumbfounded for a moment before she finally snapped out of it, recovering quickly. Their classmates who had already been found would most likely be watching this unfold, and she took another step away. With a sniff she regained her composure and her mask, tossing her head to the side in annoyance as she tried to cover her moment of weakness. "Fine. You just had to break the building, didn't you?"

Scoffing, he rolled his eyes, turning away from her. "Last time I rescue you, idiot."

Lips pulling upward at his comment, she simply shook her head before scratching behind her ear. "Well, guess you got me."

"Of course I did."

"Akatsuki-san! Are you alright?!"

Iida made his way through the dusty rubble, trying to swat away the dust that had risen in the low light. Bakugou scowled and turned away from Rei, although he didn't make a move to leave quite yet. "You're the one who put yourself in so much danger."

Crossing her arms and scowling right back, Rei lifted her voice, Iida finally able to hear her. "I set that up thinking that the risks would make people improvise a better solution. Clearly I was wrong about that." Iida only sighed at her sarcastic remark, relieved that she was altogether fine. If she was snapping off that much, then she was clearly safe from physical harm.

"Akatsuki has been found and rescued! The first round is over!"

Exhaling sharply through her nose, Rei blinked quickly in irritation. "Let's just get back. My group's next. Try not to make this too difficult."

Iida had already taken off, a short distance away but far enough so that he was unable to hear Bakugou's response. A shiver ran down Rei's spine as he fell into step next to her, voice husky as he muttered half under his breath. "From what you did to me, you deserve what's coming."

The sentiment filled Rei with dread. Apparently, karma was a bitch, and she knew exactly where Rei now lived.

* * *

Much to Rei's satisfaction and relief, it was Kaminari who found Bakugou and had to deal with his temper in the next round. She had been dreading what the boy would do to try and get in her way or slow her down during the round, but thankfully she never even saw his face or heard from him until the round was over. In the end it was Midoriya who won by finding five people, Rei coming in a close second with four. She knew that it was due to the fact that Midoriya was insanely fast now with his new move that he had created during the internships; for all her own maneuverability and skills navigating unlikely layouts, she couldn't compare to his speed now that he was boosted and was like a wasp flitting through the air.

Time flew by, and before Rei knew it it was time to go home. Changing out of her hero costume and heading back to the classroom, she walked with all the girls as they bantered about today's hero training class and one another's strengths. Rei mostly remained silent, but she occasionally spoke when Momo in particular directed a question toward her. It was a nice change, being surrounded by a group of girls who weren't trying to tear her down or ignore her at every turn. She was definitely getting used to this.

They took their time getting ready to go home, Momo and Rei eventually splitting off and leaving the classroom on their own time, talking casually as they made their way through the shoe room and to the front of the school. But as they walked towards the front of the school Momo slowed down, spotting something ahead of them. She elbowed Rei, subtly pointing towards the base of one of the arches. Standing in the shade was a scowling Bakugou, although he was fixated on his phone, punching away at something on the keyboard. Rei sighed, looking to Momo. "I'll see what he wants. He's probably angry with me from hero training."

Elegant, sculpted eyebrows raised, a knowing smile on her face. Rei only rolled her eyes, gently shoving Momo, their conversation at lunch coming back to her. "Go without me. I'll be fine."

"Alright." A wicked smile quirked up her lips. "See you tomorrow." The vice president was off and running before Rei could say anything back to her, although a scowl briefly touched her face before shaking her head with a sigh, making her expression more neutral. She watched Yaoyorozu disappear down the stairs before making her way to her new neighbor, looking at him carefully as he eventually noticed her approach. Upon seeing her he stood up straighter, tucking his phone away in his pocket.

Rei stood before him cautiously, not quite sure what he wanted. "Why are you still here?"

He clicked his tongue, turning away and moving back onto the path. "Didn't want you to get lost on the train again, idiot. Hurry up."

His brusque facade was almost transparent at this point, Rei seeing his intent and smiling as she hurried to catch up with him. They walked together in silence for a while, Rei fidgeting with her backpack straps as they made their way to the station. What should she say?

She ended up saying nothing, all the way until they disembarked at their station and began to walk home through Mustafu. By then Rei had managed to gather her thoughts, preparing to say what she wanted to say. "You didn't have to save me from that fall. I would've been fine from that height."

An eye roll. "Idiot. The instructions were that we had to make sure that no harm came to the hiders. I don't care about the fall. You would've been hit in the head by the debris."

So he said. "Suuure."

"Would it kill you to say 'thanks?'"

Rei smiled. She couldn't help but egg him on sometimes. "Thanks. You didn't have to, but you did." She could barely hear him mutter something under his breath along the lines of dismissal, but she knew that he had accepted her thanks all the same. "Have you started studying for finals?"

This time he fully turned his head to get a good look at her. "Of course."

"Then…" she hesitated a moment before rushing through her words, "wouldyouwanttocomarenotes?"

He blinked, trying to comprehend what she had said before shrugging his shoulders. "Whatever. Guess I have nothing better to do this weekend."

Rei looked at him blankly. That was all? It had been surprisingly easy; she had been expecting some resistance, or for him to tell her to buzz off. The jitters in her stomach began to get a rise again, but she squished them down as much as she could. "Then, I know a cafe we can go to. My treat."

Nodding, he said nothing. That was all there was to it. Internally Rei breathed a sigh of relief; that had all gone rather smoothly, unlike everything else during the day. She had been thinking about who to study with for a while now. Since Momo and her compared notes constantly, there was little else that the girl could teach her. Plus, she wanted to hear the information from someone new. She had considered asking Midoriya, which wasn't off the table yet either, but Bakugou had placed higher than the boy, landing in third place on the midterms. Surely it helped to ask the best of the best; she considered asking Todoroki, but she knew that he was busy on his own during the weekends, visiting his mother. She didn't want to impose herself on his schedule.

Of course, it helped that she enjoyed Bakugou's company, although she was rather nervous about it. Would he noticed how jumpy she was, how flustered she got around him? In the end, the desire to compare notes and get more information for the final won out. It was only logical, she rationalized, that she ask one of the top people in the class for help.

So lost in her own thoughts, she barely noticed that they had already turned onto their street. The two of them muttered their goodbyes quietly, Bakugou breaking off and turning into his house's entrance, Rei watching his back as he walked away. She eventually made it to her own home, pulling out her key and opening the door, walking inside carefully and peering around the space. "I'm home."

"I'm in the kitchen!"

Reina's voice rang out from around the corners, a beacon for Rei after she removed her shoes and padded quietly around the first floor, peering around the corner and peeking into the kitchen. Reina was rummaging through the cabinets, pulling out a bag of shrimp chips triumphantly and grinning at Rei. "Want a snack? Thought we'd eat something as we go through your notes."

"Are you busy still?"

"No, I finished a conference call earlier this morning. That's all I really had today." Reina still grinned, leading the way into the living room as she practically skipped to the couch and flopped over it unceremoniously. "Just because you're living with me now doesn't mean you get to slack off with your studies."

"I know, I know." They made their way to the low table, pulling zabutons off the couch and plopping down onto the floor, Rei pulling out her notes and materials and scattering them across the surface. "Actually," she began, trying to remain casual, "Bakugou and I are gonna study this weekend for finals."

"Oh, I see!" A pause. "Am I not good enough? You should know that cute boys are only a distraction when you study."

"Nee-san…" Rei dragged out her words, exasperated by Reina's teasing. Her mentor only laughed fully, picking up a pen and twirling it in her fingers, clearly the influence for Rei's own pen twirling habits.

"I'm joking. It's good to compare notes to a classmate. Where will you be studying?"

"I thought we'd go back to Mamaru's cafe." She didn't mention the fact that she'd be buying Bakugou food in return for saving her ass that afternoon. That was a minor detail that could be skipped. Reina only nodded in approval.

"If anything goes wrong, just call me."

"I know."

"Good. Now let's get started. Shall we start with math?"

* * *

AN: Fluff, fluff, fluff! Look at my two idiot children, bumping heads and being generally clumsy and adorable!

Forgot to mention a few chapters ago, a zabuton is basically a seat cushion. Think "futon" but only for your butt. :)

So, another update.

Remember how I was stuck on writing chapter 23 and 24 since, like, chapter 7 came out?

_Guess who just finished writing chapter 29 and is _h̶a̶l̶f̶w̶a̶y̶_ now completely finished with chapter 30? _

I finally managed to break out of my writer's block. Scrapping what I had and pushing it to the side for another bonus chapter was exactly what I needed. So good news! I'm actually writing more for this story, and it's been pretty good. I'm pretty sure some of you will actually want to murder me for where I'm taking this story, but that's neither here nor there... we'll get there when we get there. In any case, we're moving right along. Now that I'm getting comfortable with have a bunch of chapters stockpiled, I might release a fun couple of chapters ahead of schedule. Who knows!

No joke, I was tempted to upload this Saturday. This document has been sitting in my account since Friday. I'm so ready to bring this content to you. [insert joke about content creation]

Also,  **lifethroughanotherseyes **made a rendition of Rei, and the link's on my profile (since it's so dang hard to put it in here). They were cool enough to send this to me and let me share it with all of you. I love seeing people's interpretations of my characters and work; it really makes me happy that y'all are thinking of this story so much!

**Have you made any art that you'd like to share, or played with character creators? PM me and share your work!**

**Review Thanks Time!**

**dragontamer64**: Best of luck with all the tests, and happy summer! Thank you for your words about character interactions; it's been a lot of work to try and get my dialogue sounding and feeling natural, so your words mean a lot to me. I hope you enjoy this fluffy sort of chapter as well! Please look forward to our shitty children being adorkable and stubborn in the next chapter as well (it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with Chapter 20, so I hope you enjoy)

**yaoi4adollar**: When I was brainstorming and doing a character chart for Rei, I literally made a note that said "she doesn't always curse, but she prefers a generous dolling out of middle fingers." Haha I'm glad you're enjoying the sort of fluffy and cute moments! I have a hard time writing them, so I really try to make sure they're not over done :D

**Puddin**: Hearing someone you that you've been looking forward to this story all week is literally so surreal for me; I've spend so much time waiting for others to write stories that it's shocking to hear it from someone else about me. Thank you so much!

**Venta**: Ahh, I'm so happy you find this story addictive! And I'm doubly glad that you think this slow build up is looking natural as well; it's kind of hard because I feel a bit of pressure to pair characters together, but I know what I want as well. It's hard to hold out for the cute moments, but thank you for your support and kind words!

**ILikeFoxes828**: Omg you have no idea how happy that makes me that you ship Rei and Bakugou, I'm so happy! This story has been a long build up, and I'm glad it's paying off so far.

**Anseo**: Wow, I'm so glad that I could inspire you to write again! I understand how hard it is, and how we can get into slumps. Please keep me updated with what you do! And I'm glad you love Reina and Chirasaki in particular; I know Rei and Bakugou get a ton of attention (as they should), but hearing that you like the other original characters I've created really means a lot to me too. Please let me know if you have any more questions about writing in general! I'm happy to help out however I can :) I look forward to your reviews in the future!

**Please, please, please review!**

**It helps me write more and chunk out more content for you!**

**I always try to respond as well. **

**Love you all!**


	20. Stu(dying)

Chapter 20

Stu(dying)

* * *

_**Akatsuki (10:35 AM)  
**__Ready when you are_

_**Akatsuki (10:37 AM)  
**__Also we're taking the train_

Saturday had arrived. Rei had slept in as long as she dared, or rather, she had remained bunched up underneath the blankets of her bed, too invigorated and nervous about the day's plans that she was unable to return to sleep. Cursing herself as she flipped around in her bed every few minutes, she was eventually resigned to getting up and preparing for the day, rolling out of the bed with a thud and a groan. She took her time getting ready, brushing and fluffing her hair out after washing her face, wandering to her drawers and closet and pulling through outfits with disdain. What was she going to wear? Something nice-no, not something too nice. She didn't want to seem like she was overdoing it. Casual then. It was easy enough to eliminate half of her wardrobe, most of it consisting of athletic and bummy clothing.

Eventually she settled on a pair of white shorts with a sleeveless, black, high necked tunic top, a recent addition to her wardrobe since shopping in Shibuya with Reina and Hotaru. The chiffon top probably wasn't the best idea, since the material wasn't the most breathable, but Rei was determined to wear it. Of all the things she had, it was probably the nicest but most casual item she had.

She scowled. Why was she panicking over a study session? Stupid self.

Picking up her phone and yanking the charging cable a bit more violently than usual due to her own irritation, she breathed in deeply before sending her message to Bakugou. Tossing it onto her bed she began to restock her backpack, stripping the contents down to only what she would need to study. It was a few minutes before she received a response, phone vibrating cheerily before Rei picked it up with dread.

_**Bakugou (10:58 AM)**_

_Too damn early_

His message was enough to put a grin on her face. Typical. Punching another message back, the smile never left her face as she continued to move around her room, pulling together more supplies. Wallet, money, train pass. The phone vibrated again, a much faster response this time. Rei opened the screen to see what he had responded with, punching out her own reply while multitasking.

_**Akatsuki (11:00 AM)  
**__Hurry up. I'm hungry_

_**Bakugou (11:01 AM)  
**__Then eat something now_

_**Akatsuki (11:02 AM)  
**__I'm eating at the cafe. Hurry your ass up_

_**Bakugou (11:02 AM)  
**__I'm gonna kick your ass_

_**Akatsuki (11:03 AM)  
**__I'll be outside in five_

There was no response to her last message, so she tucked her phone into her pocket. Grabbing one of her new pairs of shoes, she pulled out the black athletic shoes from their box in one hand, using her other hand to grab her bag and slowly make her way down to the foyer. It was late enough in the day that both Reina and Hotaru were awake, the former looking much more put together while the latter was still dressed in pajamas, clearly able to exist and operate in the world of the living because of the mug of coffee in her hands. The two of them looked up as they heard Rei's quiet descent thumping on the stairs, smiles on their faces.

"Good morning!" Reina was chirrupy as usual, a beaming ray of sunshine. "Heading out already?"

"Bakugou just woke up, so he'll be a little longer."

Reina scowled. "Shame on him, making a lady wait."

"Sounds like someone had the right idea for a weekend." Hotaru was hilariously barely coherent still, eyelids blinking slowly and blearily as a hand covered her mouth as it stretched open in a yawn. Rei only rolled her eyes at the two of them, sitting down and tugging the shoes onto her feet.

"Just a study session, nee-san."

"I know. Still."

Hotaru smacked Reina playfully on the arm, sending a dry look at her girlfriend. "Let her have some peace, especially since I can't."

"Aww, but you were up already!"

"Not nearly enough."

Standing up and readjusting her pack, Rei ran through her materials again, double checking to make sure she had everything. There was a grin on her face, listening to the two banter back and forth. It was heartwarming to watch the two of them, so clearly in love even despite their differences. Rei wasn't sure that she would be able to have the endless patience that Hotaru did for Reina's early wake up times, especially when she occasionally forced her partner awake. Especially on the weekend. Rei shuddered at the thought.

Finally certain that she was ready and giving her bag a triple check before finding satisfaction in her preparations, she turned back to her guardians. "I'll be back before dinner. I'll text you."

"Please do." Reina waved cheerily from the couch, Hotaru simply lifting a hand and giving a weary smile. "Have fun!"

She could hear the way her words were laced with insinuations, enough to make Rei roll her eyes as she turned away, opening the door and slipping through. The air was already hot, making Rei thankful that at least she was wearing a sleeveless top. Locking the door and making her way toward the street, she fiddled with her phone aimlessly as she made her way to stand outside the gate to Bakugou's residence.

There was a text from Yaoyorozu that she had just received, wishing her luck with a suspicious looking smiley face at the end of the text. Rei had told her best friend everything about her plans for the day. What was there left that she didn't know, at least that was current? Of course the text was much too kind and uplifting and encouraging, though much more tame in comparison to Reina's wiggling eyebrows and flirtatious looks, but Rei still sensed that there was a similar nature to the text. Huffing under her breath, she punched at the keys almost angrily, thanking her friend and skirting around any promises to text her later.

She wasn't so distracted that she almost missed hearing the front door of Bakugou's house open, perceptive hearing just picking up the sound and making her look up in curiosity. Tumbling through the doorway came a familiar mop of messy ash blonde hair, the door slamming behind him as he muttered curses under his breath. Tugging his bag over his shoulder he practically stormed out of the front yard to stand in front of Rei, clearly fuming about something that had just happened. Rei only blinked, taking in his appearance as he slowly began to calm down. "Morning."

He muttered something that sounded like a good morning, although it was obscured as he stooped down to fix his shoelaces, apparently having stormed out the door so quickly that even his shoes weren't yet properly fixed on his feet. "Where're we going?"

"Kumo City."

"Hah? For a cafe?"

Rei scowled darkly, glaring down at the boy with eyes following him as he stood to his full height. "It's my favorite. Be thankful I'm committed to paying for you for helping me out."

Red eyes rolled, but the answer seemed to pacify him enough. Taking the lead, Rei began walking down the road, the two of them falling into step. It was almost as though they were heading to school, although the lack of uniforms was a clear reminder that this was not normal. She couldn't help but look at him from the corner of her eye, taking in the casual heather gray t-shirt and dark wash jeans with his usual shoes. Never before had she been so thankful that she had listened to her intuition and dressed as casually as possible, even while straining a bit to look a bit more presentable than her usual. At least she didn't feel like she was terribly outdoing him, what with the plain color scheme that she wore. With a sigh of only slight relief she tucked her phone back into her pocket, hands digging into her shorts nervously.

The trip passed in mostly silence. Rei was too nervous anyway to say anything, only taking the lead as soon as they reached their platform and taking off into the streets of the city she had not long ago called home. Everything seemed familiar but somewhat distant now, the streets filling her with a sense of nostalgia. Was that even possible? She had only been gone for a few weeks now; was that even enough time to create such a sense in her? But it was undeniable as she looked around in fondness, spotting the all too familiar navy blue house on one of the street corners that stood out like a sore thumb. The small yard was filled to the brim with a variety of plants, a jungle nestled in the heart of suburbia. It put a smile on her face as she looked at the house as they passed. It didn't go unnoticed by her companion.

"Why Kumo City?"

It was a fair question. From what Rei had ascertained about Mustafu, there were plenty of small shops and cafes and small coffee shops that they could have gone to. It didn't make much sense to travel all the way to the next city over, and technically the next prefecture over. But Rei only smiled, the nostalgia filling her with a sense of peace that nothing could overcome. Breathing in deep, she exhaled slowly before answering. "I lived here, up until a few weeks ago. Trust me, this cafe is worth it."

They were in fact coming up on said cafe, the small shop and its glass panes glistening in the early afternoon light. Rei pushed through the door first, the familiar jingle of a few small bells sounding as she pushed the manual door open with a smile. Much to her delight, Mamaru was adjusting the display at the front, the woman lighting up at Rei's entrance.

"Well, if it isn't one of my favorite customers!" Her eyes lingered on Bakugou briefly before completely focusing on Rei, smile never wavering. "And a friend! What'll you be having today?"

"The usual for me." Turning to Bakugou, she gestured for him to step forward and order. He seemed to be caught off guard at this for a moment, having been looking around the space with vague interest. Giving him time and privacy Rei broke away, scouting a table in the far corner. There were a few other patrons in the shop, most appearing to enjoy their coffee in either solitude or quietly conversing with companions, mugs wrapped in their hands in their small worlds. Putting her bag down at a table in the far corner she rummaged around for her wallet, pulling it out and returning to the register just as Bakugou had apparently finished ordering. She handed her card to Mamaru, the woman ringing her up with a strange twinkle in her eye. Rei only blinked as the total appeared, a frown on her face. "That's not what it should be."

"Employee discount for my favorite. I seriously miss your help. Any chance you're looking for a summer job?"

Rei smiled wryly, signing off on the tab. "School training trip, unfortunately. I'm sure you'll manage without me."

The woman sighed dramatically. "But it's so lonely! I do miss you, my dear. Give Reina my love too, and tell her to visit soon." Rei only dipped her head with a serene smile, heading back to the table as Mamaru waved her away. She would be back later with their order anyway. Turning back, she watched as Bakugou began to pull out his notes, a surprisingly determined look on his face. With a hard swallow she quickly made her way back to the table, pulling out her own materials to catch up with his own.

"You worked here?"

Rei looked up in surprise. He had heard that? "Yes," she began tentatively, not sure how much information she wanted to give, or how much he wanted to hear. But he only looked at her blankly, Rei accepting it as his own motion for her to continue. "I started in middle school. My mentor got me a job here."

"Was that even legal?"

At this Rei's lips twitched, a devious look on her face. "That's need-to-know only."

He apparently found her comment amusing, a small smirk fluttering across his face for a moment before returning to its serious demeanor. "Let's start with math."

Switching gears, Rei turned serious to match his own attitude, face focusing. "I have pretty much everything until this past week's lessons. You?"

"I've got it all."

Rei grinned. "Alright Mr. Hero. Show me your notes."

He flipped his own book around, Rei passing her own in exchanged. For a few minutes the two poured over one another's works, flipping through the pages, although Bakugou moved a little more quickly than Rei. At least reading was easier than processing the lectures. She was broken from her concentration as Mamaru brought their drinks and snacks, a chocolate croissant for Rei and a tiramisu for her study partner. Picking up the hot latte eagerly she sipped the frothy beverage, peering over the rim of the mug as she stared at the notes, being more careful than usual not to spill anything.

"I don't get it."

Bakugou's growling voice make Rei look up suddenly, peering at him in confusion. His brows were furrowed, pure confusion on his face. It made Rei confused herself; what was so perplexing about her notes? Surely she hadn't written anything embarrassing in the margins, had she? But he flipped through a few more pages, peering closely at her neat penmanship, as though looking for some sort of flaw. "How are your notes this good, but you're so bad at the midterm?"

Her reflexive reaction was to answer with a sarcastic comment, but her lips froze right as they parted, words halting on the tip of her tongue, unable to spill over. Immediately she closed her mouth, zipping her lips together and pressing them into a thin line. Sitting up straight, she backed away from his notes, sitting back in the chair as she sipped at her drink, watching him reservedly with sharp golden eyes. "That's… a personal question."

"Huh?" He peered at her, squinting as though it would help him to ascertain a better answer. He seemed adamant, undeterred by her vague explanation. With a sigh she set the cup down on the table, although she didn't release it.

"I'm not good at lectures. I'm good at reading and memorizing the information from the books, but the lectures are what get me." It was an admission of weakness, something that she had known for a while. It was a secret between her and Reina, something that she guarded closely. But she found herself opening up, even if just a bit. He deserved to know why she had asked him to study. "That's why I asked you to study. I've already compared notes with Momo, and there's no way in hell I'm asking Iida for help."

At her mention of the top two ranked students in the class Bakugou bristled, clearly agitated at being reminded how he was currently ranked below the two model students. But learning Rei's true intention seemed to lower his irritation at least marginally, enough so that he didn't act out, aside from a scoff and a toss of his head. "Whatever. Just look at my notes and ask me what questions you have."

It was as good as it was going to get. He didn't ask any more questions, didn't insult her ability to learn. Thankfully, that was all Rei needed. The nerves were subsiding, allowing her to focus a bit more clearly on the task at hand. With a bright grin she nodded her head. "Okay."

* * *

The day unexpectedly flew by. Their drinks and snacks had been drained quickly, Rei buying another coffee about halfway through their study session to perk herself up a bit more as her brain began to slump. Not only that, but she had missed Mamaru's espresso. There was something about the coffee served here that was just better than anywhere else. Even after working for the woman for a few years Rei had never figured it out, the woman simply winking every time she asked and proclaiming it was a trade secret, keeping it a mystery so that people would keep coming back. She didn't think that it was anything terribly fancy at this point, but the shop baker and owner had a point, and it was an effective strategy. After all, she had dragged her study partner from the next prefecture over mostly on a selfish whim, proving Mamaru's point as to how good it was..

Strangely enough, Bakugou was a rather effective tutor. After calming down from his irritable morning start he had been solemn and focused, a stark change from his usual irritable demeanor where he often yelled at others. Every time Rei asked a question he was startlingly patient, explaining things in a calm manner that was effective and rather soothing for Rei. It was a bit different that Reina's style, although that was probably for the better. Learning from different people with different approaches would only help her in the long run. Most of the difficult concepts that they had learned over the past week had become markedly clearer in Rei's mind, Bakugou's notes occasionally describing and hitting some details that she hadn't written down in her own set. While her mind was now spinning from an information overload, she was content. At least she wouldn't be cramming in the last week before finals.

She had finished eleventh in the midterms. She would have been fine with the outcome; it was a far leap from where she had begun in middle school, as she had ranked closer to the absolute bottom of not only her class, but the entire grade. Finishing dead center in the middle of the pack was a feat in and of itself, especially considering that she was surrounded by some of the best and the brightest. But the anger had begun boiling since the release of their rankings, simmering until it heated her entire body up. She had finished two places behind Mineta, the absolute disgusting prick that she detested with a burning passion and utter disgust.

How had such a vile pervert finishing in ninth? Her pride wouldn't have it. Rei had wanted to hit the books as soon as possible in order to ensure that she had enough time to perfect the information she did know.

Disgusting. In any case, that was only one major part of her motivation to rank higher and do better on the final. Of course she also wanted to do better for herself, along with being able to prove to Reina that she truly was improving. That was all important too. But there were few motivators in Rei's life like petty ambition and the complete desire to academically pummel people she didn't like. It wasn't impossible either; ninth or eighth place was surely attainable, if she worked hard.

It was such a far reach from where she had been not a few months prior. She had wanted to keep in the middle of the pack, to mind her business, to not stick out too much and to maintain the status quo in order to get where she wanted to go. But instead she found herself striving to be the absolute best she could be. She had friends in high places, who pushed her to improve herself even more.

And yes, spiteing Mineta was part of it too.

But there was only so much information she could cram into her head. It was time to get moving, at least physically so, so that she could refresh herself. Stretching her arms high into the air, Rei scrunched her face tightly for a moment before widening her eyes and blinking rapidly. Sniffling, she set her hands back down on the table. Bakugou looked up at her in confusion and surprise, waiting for her to speak.

"Let's get up and move. We've been here for a while, and I need to get home before dinner anyway." She was rather reluctant to leave. Studying with Bakugou had been rather pleasant. She wouldn't lie either; she wanted to spend more time with the handsome boy in a casual manner, her heart fluttering in her chest as he looked at her with a serious but surprisingly peaceful expression. But he only nodded his head, snapping his notebook shut and beginning to gather his materials.

"You said you lived here." His remark caught Rei off guard, hands pausing as she packed her notebook into her bag. It slid from her fingertips, but her hands lingered over the opening for a moment longer before she gathered her wits about her and continued to pack up. She frowned. It was a strange thing to say.

"Yeah," she drawled, slowly trying to figure out what he wanted. "Why do you ask?"

Bakugou only shrugged his shoulders, putting his pencil case away. "Show me."

Golden eyes blinked once. Then twice. "Huh? Like, around the neighborhood?"

He only shrugged again, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at her impassively. Rei bit her lip in thought, gaze averting as she considered his request. It was strange, no doubt. But she found herself wanting to humor him, if anything, then she could spend more time with him. She tried not to think too much into it. Nodding her head once, her face smoothed over. "Okay. Let's go."

They bussed their dishes away, Rei waving to Mamaru as they departed, the woman entertaining a few guests but tossing a brief wave back at one of her favorite customers. The door jingled as they left the air conditioned space and emerged into the warm, humid weather. Rei sighed, swinging her arms around a few times to get her body moving. "Right. Let's go…" she trailed off, thinking. Where would they go? There really weren't any other places she could go, that she ever really went to besides her middle school or the cemetery. Neither seemed like good places to take a guest. That only left...

Turning down the street, she took off. She hadn't thought that she would ever go back, but perhaps it would bring her a bit more closure. The thoughts silenced her, bringing her to a brooding place. Bakugou didn't seem to mind or voice his opinion, simply falling into step with his companion for the day. He looked around casually, red eyes scanning their surroundings in a lazy fashion. Rei barely noticed, so absorbed in her own thoughts.

The route back to the orphanage was so instinctive, Rei barely had to think about it, her feet carrying her to where she needed to go. Her eyes were slightly glazed over as she thought about the other children. Where had they ended up? Where were they now? Did they think about her? Suddenly a wave of guilt washed over her. Had she even spared them any thoughts over the past few weeks? As much as she wished she had, she found that she had barely spared a sliver of curiosity for their wellbeing, so absorbed in her own life that she had completely forgotten about her roots. It was shameful. How could she forget the very people who raised her, who were so formative in her youth?

And yet, she couldn't find it in her heart to be completely ashamed. She was a different person now. Not so evolved from who she was back then, but certainly something had changed in her. It was U.A. and all the friends she had made, the people she had met along the way. It was Momo, the sweetest girl who proved Rei wrong about everything she had assumed about those born into wealth, the one who reached out when she didn't have to. It was Midoriya, the gentle yet determined boy whose knowledge and smarts he readily shared with others without reserve, his perseverance and wits subtly pushing Rei to become better every single day. It was the blonde boy walking next to her with his stubbornness and pride, in the quiet moments where he let his walls down just a bit to let her see something new. Rei wasn't perfect, but she thought that she was a better person now. She was on the way to achieving her goals.

She was changing, metamorphosing. One day, she would spread her wings. Perhaps she would then be completely unrecognizable, her transformation into a hero complete. It was a good thing, perhaps.

Rounding a corner, Rei slowed for a moment, drawing Bakugou's attention. Her head looked forward and slightly to the left, eyes unseeing. The house wasn't in plain sight, but she knew exactly where it was, seven houses down from where she stood. Would it be the same as she remembered? Shaking her head with a sigh, she pushed onward and resumed her normal gait. Golden eyes peered cautiously, lying in wait for the familiar sight to appear. Only when she stood in front of it, stopping and standing outside the metal gate, did she truly allow reality to sink it.

It had only been a few weeks, but there was a different air about the building. Emptiness. Devoid of life. Haunted. Those were the feelings that burbled in her chest, a strange twist of aching nostalgia pinching her nerves and settling deep inside the recesses of her mind. The front yard already had the telltale signs of weeds spurting up from some patches, the flower pots wilting simultaneously. There could have been residents inside, someone to buy the house after its brief vacancy, but Rei knew in her heart that no one was here. The feeling in her gut told her that it was still completely empty. Crossing her arms across her chest, she cupped her elbows, not quite tucking her arms away. She felt forlorn, now seeing the aftermath.

Bakugou shifted next to her. "What's this?"

An empty smile raised the corners of her lips, eyes staring almost blankly. "This was my home." She watched as he walked forward, lifting a sign that had been placed on the gate, carefully monitoring him and his reactions as his brow furrowed, reading the sign quickly. It was after he finished reading that he turned back to her with a bit of surprise on his face.

"An orphanage? Closed?"

She could see all the unspoken questions underneath his fragmented thoughts. Shifting her weight to her right leg, she tilted her head to the side, eyes looking to the wall that surrounded the vacant lot with feigned disinterest. "The headmaster was using it as a cover. Stealing funds, getting some of the more talented kids into quirk trafficking, the girls into… even less savory work." Golden eyes narrowed as anger coursed through her. There was no doubt that she was glad it was over, but everything that had happened to those older kids…

Suddenly Bakugou was standing in front of her, looking down into her eyes with a look of severity. It was chilling, Rei freezing in place. She hadn't seen a look like this aimed specifically at her before.

"Did… were you okay?"

Rei blinked. Now that she was looking back into his red eyes, she saw something more subtle hiding behind the frosty anger. Concern. Looking away again, she shook her head. "No. He… couldn't touch me, not after I got into U.A.." She shifted her weight. "We all knew. The middle and older kids, at least. We had an idea of what was going on. There was nothing we could really do about it. Orphans aren't really welcomed with open arms anywhere else in society."

This he seemed to understand better, although he still bristled, anger brewing and bubbling beneath the surface. "You hid everything."

"Who wanted to know?" Regaining her confidence, she looked back to meet his gaze. "No one asked. I didn't want to tell."

"So you pushed everyone away."

Tilting her head, she conceded to his point. "I did. I didn't come to make friends. But everyone is so damn persistent." She growled out the last bit of her sentence, rolling her eyes playfully. Truly, secretly, she was thankful. Rei had been changed, for the better. Still, she couldn't help taking a jab at her study partner, golden eyes glittering. "But you're one to talk too."

To her surprise, he didn't even flinch, her words barely even getting a reaction out of him. Grunting in vague assent, he moved away from his place in front of her to stand back at her side, turning his gaze up toward the house again. For a moment the two of them simply stood in silence, staring at the empty lot. So lost in the silence, Rei's heart started when Bakugou spoke again.

"I'm learning who's trash and who isn't." He spoke in a begrudging tone, as though he was having difficulty admitting his response. "There's a couple people who aren't bad."

Rei grinned, nudging him playfully with an elbow in his side. He swayed a bit at the unexpected jab, although it had been soft instead of forceful. Rei didn't look at him, but her words were directed toward him anyway. "What, am I one of those people?"

"What do you think?"

His voice was laced with aggression, although Rei knew it was playful. Still, it made her heart flutter, a genuine smile on her face softening as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "I hope so."

"Hmph." Crossing his arms over his chest, he tossed his bag over his shoulder again to readjust where it had begun to slip. "At least you're not that dumb."

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like, idiot."

Rei grinned. If there was something she could count on, it was their banter. It was a fixture of their friendship. At that thought, the smile slid from her lips. It felt like ages ago that she had asked companion why he wore such a gentle look on his face when he looked at her, something that both unnerved her and made her chest fill with warmth. He had told her that she would figure it out.

_If you can outwit that Deku, you can figure it out._

Her arms wrapped around herself even tighter. She had figured out enough to make the decision that she didn't want to press it further. There was so much that was already going for her, so much in her life now that she cherished, things that she had never had growing up as a lonely orphan. She didn't want anything to change, not in the slightest. Even if it meant that they lived in a grey area, she wanted to preserve what they had. But was that fair for him?

"You said," she began, but she trailed off, still unsure of how she wanted to go about this conversation. He had turned his head to look at her head on, arms relaxing as his hands made their way into his pockets. Brow furrowing for a moment as she concentrated, she finally released a sigh, face smoothing over as her eyes closed. "You told me, that if I could outsmart Midoriya, then I could figure out why…" She couldn't bring herself to say it. Shaking her head, she pushed on. "To be honest, I'm scared. I've never had friends before. To think that something could change…"

Bowing her head, she looked at the ground. She didn't want to disappoint him. Would he walk away? Fear gripped her heart, preparing for the worst. Silence. Then he finally spoke.

"It's fine."

Rei's head snapped up, eyes wide. Had she just heard him right? Red eyes stared down in acceptance, filling Rei with relief. "I can't make you do anything," he continued, "so just…" His fist clenched in his pocket for a moment before releasing. "I'll be here. It's fine."

His answer almost made her change her mind on the spot. Even in disappointment, he found a way to be kind and supportive, something that certainly wouldn't have happened to anyone else. But Rei only bowed her head in gratitude. "Thank you," she whispered. A blonde head only nodded solemnly, turning back to face the building ahead of them.

"Thanks… for being honest with me." Red eyes narrowed, although it seemed to be more reflective instead of actively angry. "I know I'm kind of a shit. Mom won't let me live it down. Can't have everything go my way."

"Sorry."

Shaking his head, he turned back to Rei. "Don't. You need to decide what you need to do. I can't change that."

His honest brought a small smile to Rei's lips, bringing her normal personality bit by bit. "Didn't know you had it in you to be polite."

Her witty comment earned an eye roll as he turned away from the house. "Don't fucking tell anyone."

Rei laughed, the usual dismissive and arrogant Bakugou returning. "Let's go home."

Nodding, he adjusted his position to stand next to her again as they walked back down the street. From the outside they were just two classmates, walking around town after studying with one another. But underneath the layers they knew, even without words, that there was something between them. Rei wasn't ready yet. For now, they would leave it be.

It seemed to be a victory for Rei. But a voice deep down told her that things wouldn't last forever.

* * *

**Midoriya I. (4:32 PM)  
**_Tsuki-chan! Are you up for another spar in preparation for finals?_

**Midoriya I. (4:37 PM)  
**_I mean, I know you're busy!  
__Don't feel pressured!  
__Please let me know!_

**Akatsuki R. (7:59 PM)  
**_Sorry for the late response  
__If you can help me with Hero Laws & Ethics  
__Tomorrow works for me_

**Midoriya I. (8:12 PM)  
**_Great! Meet at my place again? _

**Akatsuki R. (8:15 PM)  
**_Sure. Time?_

**Midoriya I. (8:17 PM)  
**_9:30 AM? Otherwise the beach will get crowded_

**Akatsuki R. (8:35 PM)  
**_9:30 works.  
__See you tomorrow_

**Midoriya I. (8:37 PM)  
**_See you tomorrow!_

* * *

**Bakugou (8:14 PM)  
**_I need your English notes_

**Akatsuki (8:15 PM)  
**_* Please_

**Bakugou (8:16 PM)  
**_Screw you_

**Bakugou (8:16 PM)  
**_Throw them over_

**Akatsuki (8:17 PM)  
**_I'm not throwing them_

**Bakugou (8:18 PM)  
**_I'll fucking catch them_

**Akatsuki (8:18 PM)  
**_Are you going to ask nicely_

* * *

She had just sent her last text and set her phone down, returning to reviewing what Law and Ethics notes she had written down from class in order to know what questions to ask Midoriya the following morning. She wanted to at least be solid enough in what she did know in order to understand what she needed to learn or where she was lacking in her knowledge. With a small sigh she flipped the page, hunching over her desk and twirling a pencil in her fingers.

_Plink. _

Her ears picked up at the sound of something hitting her window, but she ignored it, thinking it to be a bug or something else that was irrelevant. Rolling her shoulders and settling back into things, she looked back to her notes, picking up where she had left off and rereading the last line.

_Plink. _

_Plink._

Scowling, she got up out of her seat and marched over to the window, yanking it open violently upon seeing Bakugou across the way standing on his balcony. In his hands he held a small handful of rocks, arm raised and poised to toss the next one her way before she had wrenched the glass window open to glare at him openly. He met her gaze with a scowl of his own, lowering his hands as he stood near the railing. "Oi! Give me your notes!"

"Screw you," she seethed, slamming the window shut, intent on returning to studying. But as soon as she walked away the sound of small pebbles hitting her window continued, much to her rising ire.

Storming over to her desk and nearly throwing everything around the surface in her search for the proper notebook, she snatched her English notes from the desk and grouchily moved back to the window, opening the window up right after another rock clinked against the surface. With one hand she pulled herself up onto her window's ledge, blasting forward and landing on Bakugou's balcony in the blink of an eye, much to his surprise. Scowl still plastered across her face she smacked him over the head with her notebook, earning a hiss of pain as she watched unforgivingly.

"Ouch, damn it!"

"Oh, suck it up. It didn't hurt that much."

He moved to grab the notebook from her hands, but she sat down on the ledge of his railing as she merely lifted her hand up high above and behind her, moving it out of reach. He glowered, reaching forward again but she merely switched the notebook in between her hands, smacking his own hand away with her newly freed one.

"Damn it, stop being so difficult!"

"Ask nicely!"

"Just give me your notes!"

The spat devolved into a slapping fest between the two of them, Bakugou trying to get his way and snatch the notebook out of her hands while Rei fended him off valiantly, smacking his hands away whenever he got too close. Hissing and growling like two feral cats, red eyes sent scathing looks toward the girl in front him, the irritation growing and bubbling underneath his skin. Rei met his own looks with her own unamusement and determination to have her way, a scowl on her lips as she fended him off. Occasionally if he got too close she would swing a leg out and try to kick him, nothing terribly painful and never aiming for any of his more delicate areas, but she managed to land a few hits on his torso and the outer portions of his legs.

It went on for nearly a full minute. Finally, Bakugou was beginning to descend upon his last wits. With one final growl he slammed his hands on either side of Rei, shoving his face in front of her as he attempted to level her with a solemn and stoic look. It was effective enough, Rei freezing at his sudden proximity even as she held the notebook high above and behind her head, leaning far backwards in an attempt to create some space.

She didn't even have a chance to teeter on the ledge, didn't even think about falling backwards, as one of Bakugou's hands snatched her free wrist, holding her in place and preventing her from tipping too far away from him. The two stood at an impasse, neither willing to back down, staring at one another and daring the other to give in first.

"Katsuki! What's going on?"

Rei froze in horror at the sound of Mitsuki, suddenly ready to fall backwards into the yard and scramble away at a moment's notice. But Bakugou only turned his head away from her for a moment, shouting at the door as he tightened the grip on her wrist and making sure that Rei couldn't escape. "Nothing! Just practicing!"

His mother yelled something else before the voice melted away, clearly taking her leave. Rei sighed in relief, but tensed up again as Bakugou turned his full attention back toward her. He snarled, though his voice was soft now that they had nearly been caught. "Give me your notebook, or I'll let you fall."

"Ask nicely, or I'll fall and run away."

"Why are you so insufferable?"

"Why do you willingly spend time with me if you think I'm insufferable?"

"Damn bean sprout." His words earned him another smack over the head with her notebook as she raised her eyebrows in response, daring him to say it again. "The hell?!"

"Be nice."

"I'll beat you up the next time we fight."

"I'll run away faster than you can find me."

"You sayin' that I'm stronger than you?"

"Yes, but I'm also saying that I'm smarter than you."

He growled, rolling his eyes. "Just give me the notes."

She bopped him over the head one more time just for one good, final, measure, though ti was more gently this time compared to the others before she handed the notebook it to him. To her horror he chucked the book into his room, though he at least tossed it like a frisbee to ensure that it landed flat on the floor. Still, her jaw dropped at his irreverence for her work, about to snap something else witty at him when he grabbed her other free hand, pinning her down to the balustrade that she sat on. Moving closer he leaned in close enough to press against her legs, daring her to try and escape, a daring grin suddenly coming across his face.

Rei couldn't help but flush both at his closeness and indecency as well as her own bubbling emotions that threatened to burst from her chest. Pulling a mask over her face she rolled her eyes, tossing her head to the side in an effort to ignore the strangely close and intimate eye contact that he had initiated. "You have no idea how to treat a woman, do you?"

"You sayin' you don't like it rough?"

Her jaw dropped at his audacity, mouth hanging open for a moment before she regained her composure and looked right back into his eyes, leaning forward toward him as she whispered seethingly. "I swear to whatever god is watching right now that I will flip you over this balcony and onto your ass on the ground down below if you don't watch it."

He snickered at her violent response, but respected her wishes for now and backed away. Still he held on to her hands for a moment longer before tapping his fingers in her palms, flipping his palms up in question. Rei had half a mind to ignore him and go back to studying in retribution for all the harassment he had just put her through, but even through her grumbling she eventually acquiesced to his request, starting to massage out his arms and his hands.

She was a softie at heart. She couldn't say no to him.

It didn't help that secretly, deep down, she actually enjoyed it when he got aggressive with her.

Ugh. Gross.

Calming down from their mock spat, the two of them began to relax in one another's company. Rei even had a small smile on her face as she worked, focusing on her task with all her heart. Bakugou's own eyes watched her working, flickering between the space in between them at her face.

"Hey." Rei looked up, blinking at the softness that had come across his face once again. "Study with me tomorrow."

She paused for a moment, Midoriya's request popping up into her head. She had half a mind to tell him that she was just busy, but lying had never been her style. Even if it meant keeping his ego somewhat intact. "Sorry," she eventually shrugged in a mixture of sympathy and apathy. "I've already made a deal with Midoriya."

"Huh?!" Wincing internally, Rei watched as his softness morphed into confusion and then frustration. "Why Midoriya?"

"Because he's top ranked when it comes to Hero Laws and Ethics. God knows how much detail he knows about that stuff. And more than just that," she leveled him with a smooth look, finality in her voice, "I'm allowed to ask others for help, not just you."

"Tch." Bakugou tossed his head to the side, clearly annoyed. "Whatever."

"And I'm sparring with him tomorrow too."

"What?!"

Tossing him a more casual glare, Rei raised an eyebrow as she finished up massaging Bakugou's left hand, grabbing his right without much hesitation as he lifted the appendage to meet her halfway. She pressed into his palm a bit more aggressively than usual, making him wince from the pressure. "He asked me first," she cut in before he could make any comments or curses, "so I agreed."

"Then fight me. Tomorrow."

"Huh?" She looked at him blankly, blinking as she paused in her movements. "Tomorrow?"

"Come over when you're done. I'll give you a real spar."

Rei muttered under her breath as she squeezed his hand, shaking her head as she half spoke to herself. "Somehow I don't doubt that."

"Unless you're a coward."

Golden eyes flashed upward, daring him to say it again. "Seven o'clock."

His lips quirked up, clearly satisfied at having won this battle. "My backyard. Don't be late."

Finishing up with his hand, Rei let it drop from her grasp, crossing her arms over her chest and looking up at him with disdain. "I wouldn't dare. Now let me study."

"Whatever." Red eyes watched her carefully as she twisted around on the ledge, jumping off and making her way back into her room. As soon as she turned around to look through the window one last time she could see him grinning deviously in her direction. Flipping him off before closing the window, she finally turned away with a sigh, settling back down at her desk. Where had she been?

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

Midoriya groaned as he found himself being flung back into the sand, clutching his stomach with one arm as he slowly picked himself. Sitting up and scratching the back of his head before attempting to dust all of the sand off of himself, he winced from the landing. "Ah, that's a move I haven't seen in a while."

A few meters away, Rei had also pulled herself off of her back and was now sitting on her knees, turning around to face her sparring partner. She was breathing hard, the sweat rolling down her face from their exertion. It was well into the afternoon now, but they had managed to find a clear space on the beach to fight in a rather uninterrupted manner. Placing her hands on her hips and heaving a sigh, she made her way to her feet, crossing the distance between the two and offering a hand to pull Midoriya up. "Whaddya mean?"

He grabbed her hand enthusiastically, hopping back up to his feet. The two of them had decided to fight without shoes, since Rei had vividly complained about hating the way that sand always got into everything and never came out, but when the sun had gotten too hot on the softer sand they had made their way down to the waterline where the sand was compacted and tough. It saved their feet, but it also made getting knocked down a bigger pain in the butt. They would both be covered in bruises after this. "During the sports festival, you managed to knock Iida-kun out of the ring by twisting under him and kicking him over you, right?"

Rei blinked at his memory. Leave it to the hero enthusiast to remember everything that his friends did while fighting. "Right. I'd forgotten about that."

"Do you think I could do that too?"

Tilting her head, Rei considered his question. Fighting Midoriya when he had begun to get a decent grasp on his new move Full Cowl took sparring to a whole new level. It was so much different from when they had last sparred before the sports festival, where he had wanted to try and avoid using his quirk completely. It wasn't like fighting a civilian, since he was sharp and already understood basic combat moves, but fighting against Rei, who had been fighting and dueling with others since she could remember, was almost like the difference between a grasshopper and an owl that was swooping in for its next meal. Before this spar the difference in their strengths had been drastic. Now, though, Rei was actually being pushed.

"Most people wouldn't," Rei began to answer his question, eyes glazing over as she thought about the conditions for the move she had just pulled, "considering the fact that most people don't have enough strength in their legs. But if you used Full Cowl while doing it, it should be easy."

"I see!"

"However," she leveled him with a sharp look, "you'll have to be careful with your damage output. It's a powerup type essentially, right? As you get stronger, you might not realize it until you get to the move, but with too much power you might just shoot them straight up into the air."

Midoriya looked startled at the idea, as well as the fact that she had thought about his own quirk so carefully and so quickly, but that only made him think more carefully. "I see. Then, can I try it a few times with you?"

Blinking, Rei raised an eyebrow while folding her arms over her chest. "That doesn't sound fun for me."

"Ahh, sorry! You're right! Forget that I said that-"

"But," Rei interjected, cutting him off with a wave of her hand, "we can make a deal."

"Huh?" It was Midoriya's turn to blink in confusion, looking at his friend. "A deal."

This time a scowl came across Rei's face, arms tightening over her chest. "Information. I'm fighting Bakugou tonight, and I need everything you can give me."

"Huh? Fighting… Kacchan?"

"Don't ask too many questions. I already don't like this."

But Midoriya just blinked as he stared at Rei, taking in the way that she scratched the back of her head sheepishly, looking away and out to the water as she placed her other hand on her hip. Did she look… embarrassed? That was rather uncharacteristic of the stoic girl, and something told him that there was more to the story than she was letting on. But he let it slide, deciding not to call her out on it and instead nodding his head. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Nervous tells, tendencies, habits. Anything that you can tell me."

It was a strange request, and Midoriya's face fell as he looked to the ground. "To be honest, I don't know what I can tell you that you don't already know. When it comes to Kacchan, I sometimes feel like I don't know him anymore. And you..."

He frowned. His thoughts drifted back to the capture the flag exercise that they had done in hero basic training, how Kacchan and Rei had been paired together. They had both complained about their pairing at first, nearly throwing a fit as sparks had flown the moment their eyes met after the announcement, but clearly neither was as unwilling as they made themselves out to be, since they had cooperated strangely well. The duo had come flying at Midoriya and Tsuyu, fists flying and the two of them reacting to one another's movements and needs. Sure, they hadn't been perfect, but neither had Midoriya and Tsuyu. Bakugou in particular was limited in his quirk usage given the fact that Rei was so close. But the two of them worked together to mitigate those downsides, instead turning them into powerful wins for the two of them.

As far as Midoriya was concerned, there was almost no one that Bakugou would get along with. In fact, he was almost certain that the number was still zero, until that training exercise had happened. Even after the class had finished, he had watched the two of them communicate, bickering and Rei slapping her partner's arm without the latter seeking retribution. That had probably been the most strange, as well as the most telling.

There was indeed history between Midoriya and Kacchan. But competition and enraged feelings and egos had widened the gap between them, making them more enemies and rivals than friends in the slightest. Bakugou was closed off, though he was now showing signs of letting down his walls, even if it was just by an inch. And now, it was clear that it wasn't his childhood friend that he was opening up toward.

It was the golden eyes girl that was now standing in front of him on the beach, with sweat beading along her brow and a penchance for quiet, but dry humor at times. The silent one that was slowly breaking out of her shell, day by day. Somehow, she was the one that was tearing down Bakugou's walls before anyone else, and if Midoriya had to hazard a guess, the same was happening for the reverse statement.

At the rate they were going at, the two of them would be a devastating combination in the field if they continued to work together.

"Midoriya." Rei's voice was soft, making him look up to her face again. But strangely enough her facial expression looked rather intense, a bizarre dichotomy of how gently she was speaking mixing with the raw determination to win. "Anything helps. Please."

She wasn't begging. In fact it seemed more like a demand. Would Midoriya ever be able to figure his classmate out? Swallowing hard, he nodded slowly. "Ah, sure."

Immediately after he gave his answer, Rei's face smoothed over. "Good. Let's start practicing that move then. I'd rather get this over with and start healing for later."

Emotional whiplash: that definitely seemed like the right word here. But Midoriya was reminded of just how competitive Rei had become. She began walking away, creating distance between the two of them as Midoriya watched her in confusion and caution. After all this time, he never could figure out what she was precisely thinking. At least she was kind, and unafraid to talk now, though she was still reserved. But that wasn't enough, not if Midoriya wanted to see more of her true self.

Strangely enough though, she seemed to be picking up some of Bakugou's more brusque attitudes when it came to pushing for her way...

So caught up in his thoughts, he barely noticed that Rei had stopped her trek and had turned around, crouching slightly as she shook her hands out. He stiffened, taking a hesitant step backwards. "Ah, Tsuki-chan, what…" He received no answer. Rei began barreling down the stretch, eyes narrowed as Midoriya flinched, hands raised as realization dawned.

"W-wait! I need a moment-"

"No time like the present! Think fast!"

Grabbing his fists in her own hands, his sparring partner effectively put an end to any attacks he could do with his hands as the duo collided, Rei's momentum literally sending them flying through the air. Gritting his teeth Midoriya began to power up Full Cowl, using Rei's grasp to pull her over his body just as they began to descend toward the sand. So focused in attempting to control his quirk and bringing his knees into his chest in preparation for the kick, he forgot about the hard sand beneath his back until his landing, jolting with surprise and accidentally letting go too early, kicking up as he bounced on the ground.

He realized his mistake too late, until Rei's hand slid away from his own in a heartbeat as she grunted from the blow. Shouting for Rei, he watched as she was launched high up into the air, the trajectory messed up from Midoriya's startle and sending her higher up than anticipated, instead of keeping her momentum more forward and over his body. He scrambled to get up from the sand, rolling over after impact and struggling to his hands and knees, but Rei had already begun her descent, landing in a crouch with relative grace before Midoriya could even offer his help.

"S-sorry!"

But Rei only waved her hand, standing up to her full height before glowering at him. "Were you even trying to focus?"

"Sorry! I got caught off guard by when I landed on the sand that I accidentally lost focus…"

He scratched his cheek sheepishly as Rei only sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "That's something you have to get used to. I can't really compare, since I just kick as hard as I can, but Full Cowl's going to have more bite than me. That's something to work on on your own."

"Right!"

"Although, if you're fighting all out or with a villain, it probably won't matter…" Shaking her head of the thought as she waved a hand in dismissal, she turned her golden eyes back to Midoriya, a bit of amusement at the thought still lingering. "Anyway, if you want to spar with me, you're gonna have to tone that down."

"Right! Sorry!"

"It's fine. Let's just finish up here. Then you can tell me more about Bakugou and we can study."

"Alright! Let's do our best, Tsuki-chan!"

"Mm. Right." Sliding into a stance, she grinned ferally, a look that was oddly familiar, though not on her face typically. "Your move!"

* * *

Sparring with Midoriya had turned pretty brutal, but after a while the sun became too hot and Rei wanted time to heal up as much as possible before her next fight later that evening. Switching in the afternoon to academic studying, the duo crammed their brains with as much as they could learn from one another, Rei being rather helpful with math for Midoriya while he assisted her with the more minute details of hero laws. It had been a morning and afternoon filled with learning, trial, and error, and eventually the day came to a close. Wanting to at least get a shower in before getting completely beat up again, she thanked Midoriya and his mother for the help and the snacks before taking off back to her own house.

By the time she got home it was nearing fifteen minutes before her call time. Reina and Hotaru peered at her from over the couch as she yanked off her shoes, trying not to spill the remaining sand everywhere. "Are you sure you don't want dinner before you go?" Her mentor sounded slightly concerned at Rei's plan, since she had made mention of her plans that morning and had been texting her updates throughout the day. With Midoriya's mother basically cramming fruit down both her son and his friend's throats, Rei didn't want to risk throwing up during her spar, and had mentioned Reina to eat without her for the evening.

"Yeah, I'll eat when I get done." Skipping steps as she ran up the stairs, she hustled into her room and dumped her gear onto the floor, grabbing a spare change of clothes before throwing herself into the shower and scrubbing her skin clean. She was in a rush; Bakugou would chew her ear off if she was late, and she already wasn't looking forward to this evening.

That was a fat lie. She was looking forward to finally being able to fight him one on one and give him a piece of what she had. She was practically vibrating with energy, even if she was tired from the day.

Quickly washing the sand and grime from her body, she struggled to pull on a black tank top and leggings, grabbing her phone and satisfied upon seeing that she had five minutes left. The only thing left to decide was her point of entry.

She was tempted to just jump out the window and press her face against his sliding glass door in an attempt to startle her next sparring partner, but that left her with a number of awkward situations. What would she tell Reina and Hotaru if she was too injured to get back into the window and had to come through the front door? More than that, what would she say if she saw Mitsuki and Bakugou's dad?

_Oh yeah, no, I usually just jump out my window to talk with your son, so I just decided to jump over and climb into your backyard. Nice to see you again, by the way! _

Yeah, no. That wasn't going to fly with anyone, least of all Rei herself. And she was sure that Reina would absolutely ground her for doing something not only so foolish, but so invasive to someone else's space. So steeling her nerves and gathering her wits about her, Rei marched down the stairs, out the door, and over to her neighbor's house.

The seconds she spent standing in front of his door after ringing the doorbell felt like an eternity, like minutes turning into hours. Eventually the door swung open, revealing a very surprised Mitsuki, though she smiled brightly at the young girl in front of her. "Oh, Rei-chan! How are you doing? This is a surprise!"

Rei smiled, bowing in greeting. "It's good to see you again, Mitsuki-san."

"Oi, hurry up." Suddenly appearing behind his mother, Rei's eyes found a rather grumpy looking Bakugou, dressed casually in a black shirt and sweatpants as his hands dug into the pockets rather aggressively. His red eyes were filled with aggression, though it looked more like anticipation for the fight rather than anger at her, and immediately Mitsuki became suspicious.

"Oi, Katsuki? What do you think you two're doing?"

"Mind your own business, ya old hag!"

Rei blinked as Mitsuki slugged her son over his head, turning fully toward him and yelling. "Watch your language, you ungrateful shit!"

"Like hell!"

Raising her hands in front of her, Rei smiled, though it threatened to turn into a grin what with the way Bakugou's mother treated her son. "It's fine. He invited me over to spar, since finals are coming up."

The two of them turned back to their guest, Bakugou looking stern but with a bit of gratefulness for his classmate's quick thinking and explanation. Mitsuki seemed rather pleased at this, instantly brightening up again and all but forgetting her son's crude comments. "Oh, in that case, please come in! I'll leave you two to it, so please put my son in his place!"

"Like hell that'll happen!"

She yelled something else in return as she made her way back into the house, but Rei was particularly busy sliding off her shoes and carrying them in her hand so that they could walk through the house. Bakugou scoffed, turning away and taking the lead wordlessly, escorting Rei to the backyard. His shoes were already in the back, clearly prepared for what was about to come. The two tied their laces a little tighter before standing up, Rei taking in the space.

It was pretty rare for places to have any yard space, so to see the amount of room that Bakugou had was impressive. It was at least six or eight times bigger than their classroom at U.A., leaving plenty of space to romp around in and run. On the edge of the perimeter there were a multitude of trees that prevented others from looking in, as well as most likely providing shade during the day as well as a barrier to cut particularly strong gusts of wind. If she had to wager, Rei would have guessed that the yard had been filled with trees at one point, but considering Bakugou's quirk and how much he probably trained and practiced any spare foliage was more of a hindrance and a liability.

All in all, it was perfect for training. Rei's began stretching her arms and legs out as she moved around, Bakugou doing much the same as he mimicked her movements.

"So, what are the rules?"

"Huh?" He looked at her incredulously for a moment before snorting, rolling his eyes. "Don't wreck this place. Don't be a wimp. Don't half-ass anything."

"Your third rule contradicts the first, but sure." Before he could retort, Rei only rolled her eyes back at him. "I'm joking. I get it."

He huffed, but said nothing else as he began to put space in between them, walking to one side of the yard. Rei naturally began walking in the other direction, hopping up and down as she went to get her blood flowing before turning around and dropping into a battle stance. Opposite of her, over halfway across the yard, Bakugou did the same, his telltale smirk coming onto his face.

"Ready?"

Rei had no time to respond as he explosively burst forward, quickly covering the ground between them and flying directly at her face. The sound of his explosions no longer startled her, but her heart jumped at the sudden movement, a frown coming onto her face. That was hardly fair. But there was no time to complain, and even if she did, her sparring partner would only tell her to suck it up and start fighting.

_Kacchan relies on his arms, not just with his quirk, but his his hits. Although, over the past couple of months, I would say that he's gotten more… flexible. Both in a literal sense, but also with using his full body. I think it's because he's started using his quirk to change his momentum in quick instances, so he's working on ways to minimize openings by striking out and also countering balance issues. _

Diving and rolling over to the side, Rei had just enough time to change her momentum and wind up for a kick with her legs, keeping in mind Midoriya's notes. Her downward kick was blocked by his arms making an 'x' shape over his head, faltering for a moment before holding as Bakugou found his ground, pushing her away. Bouncing back Rei kept herself low, aiming to sweep out Bakugou's legs as he came charging at her. With her back turned toward him she launched herself toward his head, twisting in the air as she sailed over him and grabbed his outstretched hand that aimed to deliver an explosive blast at her as she went over his head. She grabbed his wrist, redirecting the explosion and holding tight as she went to pull him off balance and send him into the ground.

It worked. He hadn't expected her to be so quick at catching his hand out of the air, making him faster as she continued to grab his wrist and drag him backward over himself. He landed on the ground with a thud, though his free hand stabilized him enough so that the wind wouldn't get knocked out from his lungs. As Rei rounded for another kick to his head he rolled away, crawling to his knees before bursting forward again.

This time Rei couldn't dodge, and she narrowed her eyes as Bakugou collided into her, her hands slapping against his as he pushed her backwards, her feet sliding over the dirt as though she was skating on ice. Quickly she slapped his hands away and to the sides to ensure that he wasn't about to hit her with a direct blast to the face, beginning their close combat fight. Bakugou began to go on the offensive, swinging punches left and right while Rei continued to back up as he pushed onward, deflecting and redirecting his blows with a careful eye and quick thinking.

_Compared to you, Bakugou's blows take longer to land, though he probably has some strength on you as well. So he'll be slower than you, most likely. But remember that if he does one move for too long, that usually means he's going to test something out or lure you into a trap. _

On and on they continued in close quarters, neither willing to back down. Finally, Bakugou feinted a jab at her face, making Rei bring her hands up to block him. Her eyes widened as he grinned even wider, hand faking out and making its way for her abdomen instead. She barely managed to drop her hand in time to smack his upturned fingertips, but the damage was done; firing an explosive blast into her side, Rei dropped to the side, rolling away in pain and trying to create some distance between the two of them as she grimaced. It hadn't had deathly intent, but it definitely hurt.

"You can't run!"

Golden eyes narrowed. She wasn't running. Dropping onto her bottom and rolling onto her back, she pulled the same maneuver she had on Midoriya earlier in the afternoon, Bakugou already bolting in her direction and hands reaching for her face. So enticed by the fact that his opponent was finally down on the ground, he was stunned when she sent him flying over her head and further into the ground a ways away, sputtering as he tried to roll over and flip himself back up to his feet.

With a groan Rei grabbed her wounded side, but she flipped up to her feet with gritted teeth, golden eyes narrowed in outright anger at her sparring partner. Damn it, that had hurt! But Bakugou only grinned wider, hands crackling away with small scale explosions. "Oi, don't tell me you're done yet!"

"Screw you," she spat viciously.

Her frustration only seemed to goad him on as he laughed, dashing forward. "That's more like it!"

She prepared once more for an assault to the face, watching as Bakugou's hands crackled viciously as she raised her own hands up to defend. But her defense slid once more as instead of a punch being aimed at her face, a knee had snuck around and jabbed its way into her stomach. The blow sent her flying backwards as she tried to recover, but Bakugou was faster; catching up to her in mid air, he caught her wrists and twisted his body to the side so that she couldn't pull the same maneuver twice, slamming her into the ground with a gasp before pouncing on top of her. She tried to squirm away and kick him, but he was too fast, pressing her into the ground as he leered over her face, a wicked grin plastered across his lips.

"You done?"

"Get off!"

"Not until you say I win."

"Whatever. You win." With a huff she relaxed her body for a moment, the fight finally over, but she continued to glare up at the victor's face. "Get off of me. You're freakin' heavy."

"Hah! You're just a twig!"

"I'm not! Call Kaminari a twig, not me!"

"You're bitter you lost."

"Get off of me and I'll show you what else I got."

That seemed to pique his interest as he rolled off of Akatsuki, standing up and creating more space between them as he left his opponent to pick herself up off the ground. She groaned as she dusted herself off, regretting the choice of wearing a tank top instead of some sort of sleeved shirt. The ground wasn't completely devoid of small pebbles and other debris, and she was sure that her shoulders were getting cut up from all the squabbling and rolling around they had done in the dirt. But those were minor problems, and she would heal quickly.

Readying up once more, she slid into a stance, watching as Bakugou did the same. "My turn." Mirroring the previous start of their fight, Rei took off running toward her opponent, not giving him enough time to ready. She watched in satisfaction as he blasted off toward her with a greedy look on his face, clearly satisfied at his first win and ready for the next victory.

But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. At the last second before he could deliver his punch she dropped down, sliding on her knees and shins as Bakugou went flying over her top. His eyes widened in surprise, both at the unexpected move and her complete flexibility to be able to lower herself so quickly and so far. Body stiffening, he was unable to do anything as her hand snaked around his ankle, yanking hard and sending him face first into the ground. In the blink of an eye and the time it took for him to land on the ground and quickly orient himself, Rei had already dug a foot into his back, pulling his arms upward and back and threatening to dislocate them if he made a single move.

He growled. "That's fuckin' cheap!"

"Your turn now," Rei breathed steadily as she pulled his arms a little harder, forcing him to say the words.

"Ow! Alright, alright! We're even now!"

"Close enough." She was probably never going to actually get him to admit that she had actually won, but his admission of their even score was enough to satisfy her. Dropping his arms down to the ground she backed away, creating space between them again as he hopped up to his feet. His face was comically smeared with dirt, though Rei knew better than to laugh; if she wasn't careful, she would look like that next.

The backyard brawl continued on for hours, neither willing to give it up. The two continued to trade victories and losses, alternating as they went along. Every time Rei lost she would suck up the pain and ready up again, mind racing to come up with a new and creative way to catch her opponent off guard. Bakugou would only grimace, face focusing and turning completely serious every time Rei managed to one up him. Neither wanted to lose, to be the first one to give in to the other.

But the battle eventually had to come to a close. Rei had swept her leg out at Bakugou's own, the latter jumping in anticipation. What he hadn't expected was for Rei to launch herself forward to grab his ankle again, yanking him to the ground. The duo rolled over one another, fighting for dominance before Bakugou eventually came out on top, straddling Rei's own body and holding her arms down on the ground as he sat atop her triumphantly. Both parties were breathing hard, sweating from the exertion.

"That's... nine to seven."

Rei only groaned, flopping underneath him and relaxing even as he continued to hold her tight, unconvinced that she had truly given up. It had become a tell of their fights, the battle never over until one of them verbally acquiesced and articulated their defeat. Rei had learned that the hard way after she had believed Bakugou to be defeated, only to have him attempt to throw her off by sticking an explosive hand in her face and continuing the fight for another minute. But she no longer had the motivation to continue on, no matter how much her pride ached. Their score was as good as it was going to get. Bakugou had won.

At least, for now.

Slumping underneath him, Rei lazily glared up at her partner. "Fine. I give up."

Strangely enough, he didn't move. For a moment they simply stayed where they were, Bakugou looking down at her with an indiscernible look on his face. Unnerving. And yet, strangely flattering.

Rei raised eyebrow. "Can you get off of me?"

He acquiesced, picking himself up off of her carefully and dusting himself off while Rei got up from the ground, mimicking his motions. Rolling her shoulders around, she winced at the pain from getting slammed into the ground, her joints stiff from the tussle. She would need to take another shower, not just to get the dirt and gravel out of her skin but to calm her joints down.

"Your moves are predictable."

Her knee jerk reaction was to snipe back at him with a witty comment, but she bit her tongue. After all, this was preparation for their fights to come. Willing herself to listen for the wisdom within his sharp words, Rei managed to keep a straight face instead of rolling her eyes. "Fine."

"Practice feinting," he continued, much to Rei's surprise. "Leg sweeps will only work so many times, but if you can feint a move to the upper body it'll give you more time to take them out."

That… made sense. Blinking, she crossed her arms over her chest, staring at him with a neutral expression. "Thanks." For a moment she debate whether to say anything else, but oddly enough he didn't immediately take off, instead concerning himself with his shoes. "You're still a little stiff. If you work on your flexibility, some of your moves will be more surprising."

Grunting, he nodded his head once. It was enough. The two made their way back through the house, Bakugou escorting Rei to the front door. Silence lingered between the two, mostly from exhaustion from their exertion, but there was a bit of awkwardness as Rei began putting on her shoes again, bowing hesitantly as she exited through the front door.

To her surprise, he followed her out, standing in front of his house as he watched Rei leave. She turned around to face him one more time, lingering for a moment as her eyes traced over his face. Guilt lined her eyes. What was keeping her from him, aside from fear?

"I'll wait."

His voice was quiet, but it was enough. The two of them knew what Bakugou meant when he said it. Rei's face softened, a small smile on her face. "I'll catch up. In both senses."

Red eyes rolled, feigning exasperation, but she could see the amusement in his face that he tried to hide. "In your dreams."

He had no idea.

Rei smiled, waving a hand. "Good night."

"Night."

* * *

AN: Uniqlo just released their new manga line and honestly? I'm not even mad that I'm getting ads for men's shirts flooding everything now. The Bakugou shirt is subtle and I'm in love. If y'all love some cheap, comfy, and awesome shirts, check them out. Also, in general, Uniqlo owns my life fashion wise irl. Usually I don't get their collab shirts (ALTHOUGH I'M STILL MAD THEY RAN OUT OF THEIR MOOMIN COLLAB LINE AND THE GUDETAMA-HELLO KITTY SHIRT I WANTED), but I couldn't resist this time...

**We've reached 200k+! (throws glitter into the air)** I tried making this chapter a little beefier in honor of the landmark. Originally it was about 8k words, but I decided to add in a little spar at the end. Someone reminded me that Bakugou and Rei haven't actually officially fought until this moment (unless you count the special episode), so here we are! Here's to more of my lumpy potatoes fighting and arguing with one another!

I was reminded of ship names, and this isn't it, but I was tickled by the fact that you can do (a)katsuki with their names. I promise that was not planned, although I find it hilarious that I did that now. **ILikeFoxes suggested Reigou as a ship name... any other contenders? **

As I mentioned before, I've rough drafted through chapter 30. There's a TON of editing that needs to happen before they get released, but I'm satisfied with the fact that I've actually written stuff and gotten most of the hard parts out of the way. Chapter 31 is going to take a while though, because it needs to be perfect. I'm sure you'll see when we get there. You all are going to probably hate me for where I'm taking this story after the camping arc, and I apologize in advance. But I'm excited to write it, simply because it's really going to test my ability to convey emotion and accurately portray and convey the things that I want to. This story is for you, but it's also for me to practice my writing skills, so please bear with me!

**Holy cow, so many of you reviewed last chapter! Thank you so much!**

**dragontamer64**: I do try to have at least one funny line or something in each chapter I write, especially if it's fluff! I enjoyed pulling out that line with Momo and her reading romantic novels, so I'm glad you enjoyed that as much as I did. And please do send any drawings or sketches my way! I would be honored, and I would love to see what you come up with! I love it when people do anything artsy with things that they love. I also hope you enjoyed this fluffy chapter again as well! We'll be getting into the final exams starting in the next chapter.

**yaoi4adollar**: Eheheh, study date! We'll also be hitting the Kirishima study session in the next chapter, so please look forward to that as well. We'll be hitting some of the more canon plot things soon! Thanks for reviewing as always! I know you've been reviewing really consistently and I really appreciate it!

**CocoaFirefly**: Ahh thank you! And no need to worry about writing anything elaborate. Simply seeing that you took a little bit of time to say that you loved this chapter really makes me happy and makes my day a little brighter. I know a lot of people write a lot but I love the short reviews as well and value them!

**Anseo**: I'm so happy that my updates can make your day a little brighter! Writing a softer, more emotional Bakugou is something that I've really thought hard about and worked hard to ensure that it's not overdone. I think it's impossible canonwise for him to be so angry all the time; even the most intense people in life have times where they have to relax or have down time, but few people get to see it. I try to make sure that it's visible, but still behind walls as well, so I'm glad you find it natural! And I'm so honored that this is your top Bakugou pairing... wow wow wow wow wow that makes me so happy :D

**N3mm**: Feeling feels in high school is such a wild time, because they feel so strong and like you're going to explode. I really tried to capture that, and I'm glad you find it tangible and realistic. And yes, I agree that the future doesn't bode well for them if she keeps her feelings in for too long... And unfortunately/ fortunately, yes, I do have some twists planned. It's going to be... a time. Mwahahaha! But on another note if you do draw anything please let me know and sent it to me! I would absolutely love anything you do, if you do at all. No pressure!

**Blackenflames**: The fluff, the fluff, the FLUFFFFFFF! I'm glad you love the fluff. I personally myself have mixed feelings about fluffy chapters, but I guess it also depends on the mood of when I'm writing. Thanks for the review!

**ansegiel**: Yay, thank you! I know we're going to have a bit more fluff in a future chapter in a couple weeks or so, but I will try to write more fluff later as well. The chapters that I'm currently working on are a little intense, so I could probably use a fluff break soon... Though does editing this chapter count as fluff exposure? Lol!

**NotRob**: Omg, thank you for saying that! Yeah, part of my hope that this pairing would be one of those things where it's like... it makes sense? But barely. It's more odd than anything else. It's definitely not one of those pairings where one is extremely happy and bubbly, but I think as we start getting into more character development we'll see more of their colors and things will be even more strange. Thank you for the review!

**ILikeFoxes828**: Thank you! And that ship name is honestly pretty good! Better than anything I could come up with. Do you have a brother that reads this too? I'm honestly still in shock that people like reading this story, so every time I actually hear of a real person that reads this I'm like, "... huh. Interesting." Thanks so much for reviewing so much as well! I really appreciate it!

**Like where the story is going?**

**Have questions?**

**Have a ship name that you'd like to suggest?**

**Leave a review!**

**Thanks for reading, and thanks for being here for the 200k+ milestone!**

**Edit #1 (6/5/19): Added chapter titles for chapters 1-20**


	21. Final Exams (Part 1)

Chapter 21

Final Exams (Part 1)

* * *

Summer was undoubtedly upon them. With bugs chirruping and the constantly hot and slightly humid air surrounding her, Rei was reminded at every waking moment that it was officially her least favorite season. Sure, being warm had its perks. There was less time needed to warm up for training compared to winter and its chilly, freezing temperatures, but that also brought on unnecessary amounts of sweat and overheating. It didn't help that, while most people were more than happy to hit the pool or the beach in order to cool down, Rei wasn't happy with almost any body of water.

Rei slumped over in her desk. It was only morning. She was thankful for the air conditioning inside the U.A. classrooms, but she was still seated near the window, and the sunlight made her a bit sleepy. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle at the current moment, but she definitely couldn't sit up in her chair with a completely straight posture all day like she had only a month ago. Why did it already have to be so warm in the morning? And why did it have to get worse? Leaning her forearms on her desk, she listened carefully as Aizawa wrapped up their morning homeroom.

"Alright, that's it for class." He straightened up a pile of papers, slightly more focused on the stack than the students in front of him at the moment, although he continued to address them. "There's only one week until final exams. You all are studying properly, right? I'm sure you already know, but it won't just be a written exam. There's be a practical portion as well. Make sure you train your minds and bodies at the same time." Heading for the doorway, he paused just before exiting, leveling everyone with one of his infamous glares. "Make sure you're prepared."

As soon as the door slid shut, the room burst into activity and voices clambering, most of them bemoaning the approaching end of term tests. Almost immediately, Ashido and Kaminari jumped at Yaoyorozu's offer to help them with studying, Rei instinctively giving an eye roll while trying to hide her exasperation. Leave it to Momo to come in clutch and save almost everyone's asses. It was in her nature to be kind, and not just as the vice president, although her status as a class rep probably had something to do with the fact that she wanted her peers to succeed. Rei peered around the group, looking forward to a familiar ash blonde figure who sat a few seats in front of her. She noticed that Kirishima had approached Bakugou, most likely asking to study with the boy. After all, Bakugou had gotten third on the midterms. Heaving a sigh of her own, Rei debated her predicament. Should she ask to study with him again? Much to her surprise, Bakugou had been surprisingly helpful during their last study session. Surely if she studied with him, she would learn a lot more and solidify the rest.

But seeing Kirishima made her doubtful. She didn't really want to intrude on the two of them. More than that, she wasn't sure if she wanted to open up to Kirishima. He was funny, and sweet as well as hard working, but he was also a bit flirtatious around Rei, from what little she had noticed and from what the girls in 1-A had mentioned to her with giggles in the changing room. It was flattering, but also a little awkward. She wasn't sure if she would survive a study session with him around, let alone with Bakugou as well. But that was a problem for later, as Present Mic walked into the classroom and began setting up for class. The day had begun, and Rei needed to keep up with as much as she could.

It was at the end of the day that they made a breakthrough.

Well, Midoriya had discovered something, to be exact.

"Yes! It'll be easy if it's robots!"

Although Ashido and Kaminari seemed to be taking this a little too lightly, Rei found that she had to agree with their comments. Midoriya had apparently learned during lunch from someone in Class 1-B that the traditional first exam of the school year was against the entrance exam robots. The discovery had filled Rei with a touch of relief; at least she would mostly have to worry about the written exams from here on out. Of course she wouldn't slack in her physical preparations, but knowing that the test would be in familiar territory provided at least a little bit of relief.

But they most likely weren't in the clear just yet. Knowing U.A. there would be some sort of twist. It couldn't be as simple as trying to clear the robots from the field, even if they did add those "zero point" robots and made them mandatory. Perhaps they would change the programming and rewire their patterns to make them more unpredictable, more erratic? That would certainly change things up a bit, forcing them to keep on their toes. Packing up her belongings, Rei had a small smile on her face. Things were looking up.

"It doesn't matter if they're humans or robots. They're the same if you beat 'em up, right?"

Rei raised her head, sliding the last of her belongings into her bag. The entire class had turned to look at Bakugou, who was halfway across the front of the classroom. Even with his back turned toward the duo, he was clearly addressing Ashido and Kaminari, who were preemptively celebrating Midoriya's release of information.

But something was different about him, Rei watching him closely. Even with his usually slumped shoulders she could see a coil of tension, keeping his frame rigid and tense. "What're you idiots talking about it being a cinch for?"

"Oi, who're you calling an idiot-"

"Shut up!" Rei blinked as the pink and golden blonde duo withered from Bakugou's fiery temper as he turned to yell at them. "If you need to control your quirk, then control it, idiot!" Taking advantage of the moment, Bakugou finally turned around fully, a raging glower on his expression. "Oi, Deku! I don't know if you've figured out how to use your quirk a little or what, but you seriously keep rubbing me the wrong way." Even Rei shivered at his dark tone, though still frozen in her seat. She could only imagine what Midoriya was feeling, what with that rage being fully directed at him now.

"I don't need another half-assed result like at the sports festival. At the upcoming finals, we'll get individual scores, so we'll see who's better whether you like it or not. I'll beat you with an indisputable difference! I'll kill you!" Much to Midoriya's credit, he barely flinched away from the aggressive challenge. Rei had to give credit to the boy; not two months ago, he would have been stammering away, hands gesturing wildly in his weak defense in fear of his childhood rival. Now there was only surprise, and nothing that indicated he would back down from the challenge. Bakugou then turned to face Todoroki, redirecting his anger. "Todoroki! You too!"

The boy in question only nodded in acceptance of the challenge, Bakugou storming out of the door and out of the school. Rei immediately rose from her seat, placing a hand on Yaoyorozu's shoulder as her friend looked at her in surprise and a bit of questioning. It seemed as though everyone seemed to notice that something was up, but only Rei moved to find some sort of closure. "I'm going," she stated plainly and quickly, wanting to make a quick exit so that she could catch up with the boy that had just left. There was something odd about how he had suddenly snapped, and Rei wanted to get to the bottom of things. "I'll text you later." Yaoyorozu nodded, offering a tentative smile that only gave away her nervousness at the sudden tension in the room, but Rei was fluidly striding out the door, walking calmly but with a purpose.

"Man, it's been a while since I've seen Bakugou that tense." Kirishima's words barely reached her ears as she strode out the door, shutting the door quietly and delicately in comparison to Bakugou's fiery exit. It wasn't just her that had caught on to Bakugou's sudden temper flare. Such a thing hadn't happened for some time now. Usually he simply brewed away in his seat, keeping to himself or making comments under his breath out of earshot. Having him explode at Midoriya was a throwback, reminiscent of the first few weeks of school. What was going on, to have him snap in such a way? Rei was determined to at least give him support, if not lend him an ear. Something told her that today was going to be a difficult day with him.

She was forced to rush to her shoe locker, shoving her boots onto her feet and tying them in a haphazard manner as she rushed to the front of the school. Bakugou was already a few paces in front of her, back toward her as she rushed to follow. He seemed to be lost in his own world, and she was hesitant to pull him out of his thoughts. Eventually she caved, calling after him softly to get his attention. "Bakugou!"

The only indication that he had heard her was that he paused in his steps, giving enough time for Rei to quickly walk up next to him. The moment she appeared in his peripherals he continued on, forcing Rei to skip a couple steps in order to fall into stride. He was walking much more quickly than usual, a scowl on his face and darkness in his heart. It was in that moment that Rei knew that he wouldn't hear anything she had to say, at least not right then. So instead she fell silent, simply walking alongside him, a silent companion. It was what she decided was best. There was no point in asking pointless questions that would only provoke his rage further.

The train ride passed in silence. Rei had simply stood next to him the entire way, trying to let him know just by her presence that she was there for him, ready to lend an ear. She watched as the anger drained from him slowly, minute by minute, until he seemed to recede to a normal level of irritation. That wasn't until they were back close to home, walking through familiar streets as they made their way back to their residence. Still Bakugou said nothing. Rei found that she couldn't keep silent for much longer, a question on her mind.

"Are you…" Trailing off she shook her head. It was pointless to ask how he was. He wouldn't appreciate the meaningless chatter. Instead she cut to the chase. "I noticed you're studying with Kirishima this weekend."

At her reminded he bristled, but it was different from the way he had reacted in class. "Damn idiot needs help, so I guess I've gotta help."

Rei only nodded halfheartedly. "Well, have fun then."

"Oi." Red eyes met gold as he glared down at her. "You're not skimping out either."

Blinking a few times, she stared back blankly, hiding her surprise. "I'm invited?"

Her question evoked an exasperated eye roll from her companion. "Who else? I need to study too, and Kirishima's not gonna help me."

"You? Study?"

"Shut up."

Rei couldn't help the chuckle that tumbled out of her mouth, earning a half hearted glare from Bakugou. Lifting a hand to her mouth, she attempted to stifle the giggles, a smile on her face. At least she had succeeded in lightening the mood just a bit, and just in time. They rounded the corner to their street, walking a bit more slowly now that they were almost home. "Bakugou, are you alright?"

Silence. Rei looked up at him, watching the way his red eyes hardened as he stared straight ahead, the fury returning to him just a bit. "I'm going to come out on top," he spat out, a vow of determination, "and that damn Deku and Todoroki bastard aren't going to stand in my way."

She would have been lying if she didn't say that she was worried with the way the promise was spit out of his mouth. He was angry, and more so than usual. It was a little daunting, but Rei had to have faith that things would come out just fine in the end. As they came to his house she stopped in her tracks, forcing Bakugou to look at her. She offered a small smile as she looked into his eyes. "I believe you, hero."

Surprise briefly registered on his face before a composed facade took over, features smoothing over into a neutral look. He scoffed. "I know. You'd better."

It was as good as a goodbye as she was going to get. She waved her hand in a tiny gesture at her side, offering a smile as he simply nodded his head, turning away and walking into his house. Rei finally turned away, walking a few more steps to get into her own house. Unlocking the front door and stepping inside, she saw Reina's head pop over the edge of the couch.

"Welcome home! How's your day?"

Rei sighed. "I'm home. It was… interesting."

"Tell me about it?"

She only shook her head, lugging off her shoes and padding over to the living room, plopping down on the floor. "Nothing much. Just school. Finals are coming up next week."

Reina patted Rei's head, a soothing gesture coming from the woman, and Rei found herself nuzzling her head into Reina's palm. "And you'll be more than prepared. Are you going to start studying now?"

"Yeah." Rei's face was determined. She had everything to gain, and nothing to lose. She would do her best and go beyond. "I'm ready."

* * *

"What the fuck kind of answer is that?! Use your damn head, shitty hair!"

"I got it, I got it!"

Rei sighed. The weekend was finally upon them, and she found herself sitting next to Bakugou in a booth at a small diner that Kirishima knew, the two of them sitting across from the red haired boy as he struggled over his notes. Bakugou had been true to his promise to the other boy, determined to beat the information into his head.

Literally.

With his own notebook in his hands he curled the bound book in his fist and smacked the other boy on the head. At least Kirishima's quirk would prevent him from getting too many bruises, although Rei knew that he had been caught off guard a few times, his quirk not likely manifesting in time to completely shield him from the physical abuse. Poor Kirishima. At least he knew what he had signed up for prior to their study session. To his credit he didn't complain at all, simply withstanding the torture and tackling the notes even harder than before.

Sipping her cup of hot tea, she watched the two in amusement and concern. Well, the concern was mostly for Kirishima's wellbeing. Bakugou at least had reverted to his normal self for the most part, forgetting about his grudge against Midoriya and Todoroki temporarily in this space. He was still tense on their walks to and from school, although in the afternoon as they walked back home he seemed to relax a bit more in Rei's presence. There was a small bit of tension between them still, but it was barely noticable. Perhaps it was mostly one sided, since the blonde didn't seem to care much, but Rei couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. It was her that was holding him back, but neither could she bring herself to move forward. Not yet. Not now.

Instead she settled for studying from her own notes, occasionally peeking at Bakugou's whenever he wasn't smacking Kirishima over the head. Those moments were few and far in between, so Rei mostly stuck to her own work, although it was becoming more and more difficult to study what with the racket they were making. At least there weren't many other patrons at this time of day, letting the trio do whatever they wanted. Sipping her tea, she sighed quietly as she watched the two bicker about something, leaning forward onto the table as she observed their interactions.

Of all their classmates, Bakugou was probably the least antagonistic around Kirishima, the energetic boy somehow breaking through a number of his barriers. Even if it wasn't on the same level as Rei's interactions with the boy, the two seemed to get along in a… rather physically manipulative way. It was more that Kirishima respected and wanted to be friends with Bakugou, who begrudgingly gave his time to the red head. Rei knew that Bakugou wouldn't waste his time; deep down inside, he mostly likely had given Kirishima a stamp of approval, no matter how rough he still acted.

Most of Bakugou's time had been spent berating Kirishima, and Rei knew that the boy needed a moment to process everything. With a sigh and a bit of resolve, she plucked the notebook from Bakugou's hands, momentarily standing up in order to reach the object before settling back into her seat and smoothing the pages out. When she looked up she saw Kirishima staring at her in horror, while Bakugou simply looked stunned. Blinking her eyes, she handed back the flattened notebook to her seat partner, giving him a look of severity. "Let Kirishima-san absorb the material for a minute. You need to study too."

Kirishima had clearly been expecting a shit storm to ensue, strawberry red eyes widening as he braced himself for the inevitable. But much to his surprise, Bakugou only scoffed, sitting back down in his seat and swiping the notebook from Rei's grasp. He muttered something under his breath, opening his notebook as Rei pointed to a particular page in her own. "Here, this quadratic equation. It's from April seventeenth."

Her voice and appearance was calm, countering Bakugou's storminess, although even his anger was much more diluted than normal. Kirishima blinked in surprise, watching the two for a second before grinning. "Wow, I never thought that you two would get along. I've never seen Bakugou so calm."

His comment only riled Bakugou back up, as he raged at the boy. "What'd you say?! I'm always calm, you idiot!"

Kirishima's grin only widened as he pointed to Bakugou. "Yeah, I thought you'd be more like that! But around Akatsuki-san, you're definitely different."

"Kirishima-kun, focus please."

Even though her voice was still light, there was a glint in her eyes that sent a shudder down Kirishima's spine. "R-right." Silence for a moment, but Kirishima couldn't resist commenting further. "Akatsuki-san, you're like the icy cold to Bakugou's hot temper, aren't you?"

A string of curses and challenges came out of Bakugou's mouth, but Rei only looked into Kirishima's eyes, blinking for a moment as she absorbed his comment and processed it. After a few seconds her lips twitched, clearly thinking of some instance in her head that Kirishima wasn't privy to, although the amusement on her face made him wonder what it was that she had thought of. "I suppose, when you put it that way."

He grinned. "You know, you're a lot less scary than I thought you were! And nice too. And you're really smart!"

"Oi, stop trying to flirt, shitty hair."

Bakugou's tone was suddenly lethal, almost hissing as it oozed danger. But Kirishima didn't seem to notice, although he chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Oh yeah, sorry!" He instantly started looking back at his notes, leaving Rei to blink in surprise. What was that all about? Flirting? Confused but deciding to push it away, she turned back to her notes with Bakugou, the two of them pouring over the same concept.

Squinting her eyes, she delicately tapped Bakugou's notes. "What's that?"

"It's how I was taught to separate the terms." Making a few extra scratches in the margins of his notes, he briefly demonstrated how he used the small diagram, explaining it in a few, soft spoken words. Rei hummed, marking up her own margins as she copied the example. It was rather different, but something that made sense once he explained it. Smiling, she looked up at him.

"Thanks. I might use that now."

He only shrugged his shoulders in a tiny motion that was barely perceptible, flipping through a few more pages before coming to a section he pointed at. "This section. What do you have?"

The two of them talked quietly in hushed tones, not noticing that Kirishima had slowly been pulled out of his own studying as he analyzed the two. This was certainly something different, a completely new and unprecedented side to Bakugou as he and the girl next to him sat close to one another, putting their heads together as they poured over other concepts. The explosive blonde was rather subdued, although still grumpy looking with a small scowl on his lips. Rei on the other hand seemed almost too comfortable with this side, calm and concentrated, not making a fuss about this other side. But Kirishima couldn't stay incognito forever; it was after he stared for too long that Bakugou finally looked up, the scowl deepening on his face. "What're you staring at?! You want me to knock more sense into you?"

"Ah, n-no!"

"Then stare at your own notes, hah?!"

Rei only watched the two with a suspicious smile on her face, a strange look that Kirishima couldn't quite place. But before he could give it any more thought, a coiled notebook smacked the top of his head. "Oi! Focus!"

"R-right!"

Strange indeed. The icy stoic princess and the explosive riot. An inexplicable combination that somehow worked, the two of them meshing in a way that no one could have predicted. It was curious how fate worked, and Kirishima found himself wanting to know more. But school came first. He had to pass final first.

Then, maybe at the camping trip, he'd be able to ask Bakugou what was going on.

* * *

Three days of written finals had come and gone. Rei knew that she had done exceedingly well, no thanks to her study sessions with Bakugou and extra cram sessions with Reina and Hotaru. Everyone had been excessively helpful, and she was confident in her ability.

Now came the real test.

"Now, we'll begin the practical exam."

Aizawa stood in front of the class with a variety of U.A. teachers, much to Rei's confusion and suspicion. The rest of the class had changed into their hero costumes, Rei deciding to forego the face mask she usually wore. It was hot and humid, making it more difficult to breathe even without the contraption. With her face free she felt almost naked, but it was worth the trade off. She would have rather been able to breathe freely than to suffer for the sake of image at this point. Perhaps it was a good idea to look into alternative materials… Shifting her weight, she began to stretch her arms out subtly, standing in between Kirishima and Bakugou as the former was stretching out his legs. Her eyes were trained completely on the teachers in front of them, eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out exactly what was setting off her nerves.

"Of course, it is possible to fail the exam," Aizawa prefaced, "So if you want to go to the training camp, don't make any stupid mistakes. I expect," he surveyed the entire class, looking each person in the eye, "that you have gathered information ahead of time and have some idea of what you'll be doing."

"We're fighting robot warriors like at the entrance exam!" Kaminari punched his fist into the air excitedly, clearly ready for the test. "Right?"

As Ashido began exclaiming and shouting about various training camp activities, Rei's golden eyes focused onto Aizawa's bandages around his neck. They shifted oddly, as though something was moving underneath them. Come to think of it, it looked as though…

"For various reason," a muffled voice sounded before a white furry head popped out of Aizawa's bandage scarf, "the exam will be different starting this time!"

Rei's jaw unhinged, although she managed to keep herself together enough to prevent her jaw from completely dropping open. The principal? And not only that, but the test was now different?

Rei knew that her gut instinct had been telling her something.

"Principal Nezu?" Various exclamations had come from the class, although Ashido and Kaminari had frozen in their tracks, unable to make a sound after hearing that their expectations were shattered.

Ignoring all the outbursts, the principal lowered himself to the ground using Aizawa's wrappings, shaking off his suit and placing his hands behind his back. "From now on, we want to focus on person-to-person combat and hero work, and stress teaching that is closer to actual fighting!" His usually bubbly expression suddenly turned slightly dark, unnerving everyone as they listened in horror to his words. "So, we'll have you form teams of two and fight against one teacher!"

This time Rei's jaw fully dropped, mouth open as she stood aghast in horror. Fighting against the teachers? It was Aizawa who picked up where the principal had left off. "Furthermore, the pairs and who each pair will be up against has already been decided. These were determined at my discretion based on various factors, including fighting style, grades, and interpersonal relationships, so here they are."

"First," he declared, "Yaoyorozu and Todoroki will be one team, and they're fighting me." There was an oddly excited look on his face, effectively sending shudders down her spine as she looked to her friend. Momo looked completely uncertain and caught off guard, the complete opposite of a determined Todoroki who was clearly already conjuring strategies in his mind. Rei felt a wave of pity for Yaoyorozu to go against such a strong teacher. If they weren't careful…

"Midoriya and Bakugou are also a team, and their opponent…"

Something glinted in the sky, drawing everyone's attention. Crashing into the ground, an extremely familiar figure made their appearance, a fist clenched in determination. "I… will do it!"

Rei's gut dropped. All Might? Obviously someone had to do it. But having Midoriya and Bakugou paired as a team, let alone going against _the_ top hero was… incredulous.

"All Might?" Rei turned her gaze to Bakugou, who looked on in surprise.

The pro hero approached the two, his trademark smile on his face. "Work together to beat me, you two!"

"And now," Principal Nezu threw out an arm, "We'll announce the rest of the teams and who'll they'll be up against!"

Rei waited in anticipation, nerves bubbling in her stomach. The names continued to be called, and yet she hadn't had a pairing yet. As the list continued her horror and anxiety only increased, until all the rest of the students and all the teachers had been paired. There was no other free teacher. Would she be doubled?

Hesitantly, Rei raised her hand. The class seemed to realize what was going on, everyone turning to her expectantly and mirroring her confusion. "Principal Nezu," Rei began hesitantly, but she swallowed her nerves and summoned all her courage, face turning neutral. "Has there been an error? I haven't been assigned any team, and all the teachers here have been assigned. Will I be doubling up on a teacher?"

"Due to the class size, you'll be on your own, Akatsuki." Aizawa stepped forward, his answer making Rei swallow hard. "Of course," he continued, "we've designed a different solution for you. In your exam, there will be a buzzer at the center of the map. If you choose, you'll be able to request one of your classmates to come to your aid. Keep in mind that you'll be the last match, in order that everyone else can focus on their own exams first."

Part of her anxiety was washed away, a small sigh leaving her lips. But her brows furrowed. Her question hadn't been answered completely. "And my opponent?"

"As for your opponent…" Aizawa trailed off, eyes focusing on something behind the group. The class turned, gasping in surprise as a newcomer stalked purposefully toward the group. Rei's gut dropped as she froze in horror.

His feral grin hadn't changed, although it was much more sinister and feral than she remembered. "Sorry for appearing late, everyone."

"Is that…" Kirishima was still by her side, looking in surprise though his question was clearly directed to Rei. Her fists clenched, eyes narrowing.

"My internship mentor. Pro Hero, Black Panther."

The man pushed through the group as a path opened up for him, moving to stand with the rest of the faculty. He only had eyes for Rei, who he grinned at with a sharp look in his eye. She only stared back with similar intensity, her face a mask of determination in an attempt to hide her fear. Just her luck, the one teacher in front of her who absolutely knew her style intimately. Rei was at a severe disadvantage.

At least her match was last. Then she would have time to plan, to think.

But even as the rest of the class began gearing up, she couldn't help but notice the sinking feeling in her gut that was slowly dragging her into despair.

* * *

So there were two options to pass the exam. The first one being to put a pair of handcuffs on the teacher. The second, and slightly more logical one, was to have one person run from the arena and escape.

To be frank, it didn't seem like there were a lot of options in Rei's case.

Still, there were ten matches in front of her. Rei could take the time to think of a strategy at the latter half. If anything, she could watch her classmates to see their strategies, in order to boost her own creativity. And if all else, she would be able to see just what it was like going up against the teaching staff.

Midoriya and Uraraka had been in the room with her, watching and analyzing the fights from the beginning. It was a little surprising that there weren't more groups, but Rei knew that the next three groups at least were most likely planning their attacks and building their plans as she watched on, using their time to create as good a plan as possible. It was less surprising that Midoriya was watching from the beginning; he thrived on watching others, as everything he saw was almost always immediately applied on the field. Aside from that, his match was second to last, right before Rei. And as for his partner, well, it made sense that Midoriya was here on his own, watching the rest of his classmates and cheering for them while also making sense of their successes and failures.

Uraraka had been even more of a surprise to see in the observation room from the beginning. Although, given that her partner was Aoyama, perhaps that shouldn't have been much of a surprise. Planning with the sparkling boy was like speaking to a rhinestone studded fire hydrant that was gushing water from the side. But regardless, having Uraraka at her side was a comfort. Of all the other girls, aside from Momo, Rei was happy to have someone as positive and as attentive as the Gravity Girl.

It quickly became clear from the get go that the pairing decisions had been made deliberately in order to highlight each student's weaknesses and get them to think beyond their ability. Even though Principal Nezu had mentioned as much at the beginning, just by watching the first round made things painstakingly clear to Rei as she watched Sado and Kirishima try and punch their way through Cementoss's barriers. Recovery Girl had only confirmed their theories, the four of them watching in the observation room with concentration. As the first exam came to a close, Rei watched in horror as Kirishima was knocked unconscious, effectively failing the practical exam as the buzzer rang out, signifying the end of the first round of tests.

Such was their team's weakness, as Shuzenji had pointed out. They had entered a battle of attrition with Cementos, a pro hero with no clear weakness or point of exhaustion. It would have been better to run away, but that was neither her nor there now that the exam was over. Despair came over Rei once more, hand clasped in front of her chest as she watched in fear. Was this truly the end? Were they fated to lose in these battles? How would she make her decision on what to do, to call for help or to run away?

But slowly, surely, the winners began to make a comeback. Asui and Tokoyami had made a stellar comeback in particular as they managed to outwit Ectoplasm, with Iida and Ojiro not far behind them due to their quick thinking and even quicker actions. Watching her classmates' battles, Rei slowly began to fill up with strength again. It wasn't impossible. Improbable in some cases, perhaps, if they approached it the wrong way. She watched with a clenched jaw as Yaoyorozu floundered for the first half of the exam, though she finally managed to pull herself together by the end.

No, it wasn't impossible. But one misstep, one mistake made…

That was reality. Perhaps it was cruel, but the real world wouldn't be so kind as to giving them a failing grade, pat them on their back, and tell them to improve. In the real world one had to succeed, to pass with flying colors every time, without fail. Even if the odds were against them, a hero's job was to win. Suddenly the exam began to make more sense. This was a simulation of what they would face in the outside world after they finished school, a stepping stone to what they could expect after three years. It didn't make the nerves go away at all, but Rei's determination was renewed. She had to do this. This was the path to becoming a hero.

Slowly the room began to fill up with the class as the groups began finishing up. Slowly, the room seemed to close in on Rei. It was after watching Kaminari and Ashido's exam that Rei finally turned her back on the screen, feeling like she was beginning to suffocate. Everyone in the room looked at her as a darkness fell over her face, Momo in particular looking at her in concern.

"I need time," she began, eyes narrowed at the door as she began to walk away, "I need a plan."

"Tsuki-chan!"

Pausing, she turned her head to look over her shoulder. She could see Midoriya pumping his fists. "I know I can't be of any help. You probably know Black Panther better than I do. But," he smiled brilliantly, "if you need my help, please call on me!"

"The same goes for me, Akatsuki-san!" To Rei's surprise, Iida stepped forward with a confident smile, making Rei turn around fully to look at her classmates. "We may not talk much, but do not feel as though you cannot call on me if you need me!" Asui nodded in assent, silently adding her vote of confidence and support, but Rei's gaze turned back to Yaoyorozu.

The other black haired girl still seemed a little uncertain, but she offered a gentle smile. "I don't know if I can be of any assistance, but if you think you can use me in your exam, I am more than willing to help you."

Rei smiled gently, nodding her head. "Thanks. I'll… keep you all in mind." It was the best promise she could make, given that she didn't have any clear direction quite yet. But they all seemed to accept her noncommital response, smiling after her as she waved a hand in farewell, disappearing from the room and out into the hallways of the observation room.

She couldn't stay in here any longer. Even the hallway seemed to be closing in on over her head, threatening to press down upon her and flatten her into the ground. Breaking from a walk she began to jog, warming her body up in the process. She needed space. There was more than enough time before her exam, and she knew just where she wanted to go. Finally breaking outside, she saw the familiar tree line in the distance, a dense grove beyond the expansive parking lot. Running across the space she leapt through the air, almost leapfrogging like Asui often did. The shade was much cooler after running across the black top, Rei taking off into the trees as she began to hop from branch to branch, seeking solace in the rustling tree tops above her head. It was quiet, a welcome distinction from the constant buzzing of the electronics in the observation room. Her mind felt much more free now that she was outside.

After making sure she was deep in the forest where no one could find her, she finally dropped onto a low hanging tree branch, a large arm that was thick enough for her to sit comfortably upon. Crossing her legs like a pretzel and leaning against the trunk of the tree, she placed her hands into her lap and closed her eyes. It was time to run through everything she knew.

The most important thing to consider was the terrain. She had been assigned Field Gamma, although she was curious to see how it fared after Principal Nezu had wrecked almost the entire landscape after his battle against Kaminari and Ashido. Still, it was the furthest thing from the rural areas, like the field that Iida and Ojiro had been in, or the forest that Jirou had been assigned to. If anything Rei had a slight advantage; the terrain was one of her favorites, next to the mid-high urban area that both Kirishima's group and Bakugou and Midoriya had been assigned. Her knowledge of Field Gamma was at least more than her mentor's own, although he most likely had received a map or had done a brief tour prior to the test. It was best to assume that they had about equal knowledge of the terrain, giving neither an advantage.

One of the key elements to everyone's exams had been facing their weaknesses in order to overcome their trials and pass the test. But what was Rei's weakness supposed to be? She wasn't trying to be vain; of course she had weaknesses, but thus far she had been given quite a good hand. Black Panther and she were both close combat fighters; it would have been easy to make Rei go against someone like Present Mic or Snipe, effectively putting her at a disadvantage by going against a long range fighter. Clearly they weren't trying to take her out in that manner. Terrain didn't matter quite as much either, although she was more suited to tight squeezes than open spaces, being naturally smaller in size than her mentor, something that Field Gamma certainly provided.

Her brows furrowed. Both she and Black Panther were adept at maneuvering in urban environments instead of open air spaces with plenty of space to run around in. They were stealthy, preferring to sneak around before striking, but they both loved to jump through space and soar through the skies, memories of being in Hosu City and running gauntlets with her mentor coming to mind.

Golden eyes flew open. That was it.

Her mind raced back to the first day after returning from internships, as well as the game of hide and seek not long ago. Those who were able to fly through the air had a distinct advantage, as they could cover more distance. The rest of them had to navigate through the tangled web of buildings, pipes, and other technical equipment. Those were the two options for navigating Field Gamma: to rule the skies, or to crawl through the web below. If she took to the skies she would be allowed free movement and a quick path to the exit, but Chirasaki would undoubtedly be waiting for her up where his vision was unobscured. The other option was to navigate the tight pathways below, but her opponent would certainly be patrolling the rooftops. If she was caught, he could descend on top of her without warning, effectively calling the end game. She would be dead in the water.

What would she do? What could she do? Or most importantly, what should she do? Even though she was fast, Chirasaki was just as fast and three times stronger. A direct fight wouldn't end well for her, even if he wore those weights and had his strength taken down a few notches. That thought gave her pause. That was right; the teachers were fairly weakened to make it more of a fair fight for the students. Then, was there a chance that she would make it?

There was a chance. But Rei didn't want to leave things to chance. She wanted an undeniable win, a definite thing she could grasp without leaving things up in the air. She wanted victory to be in the palm of her hands the moment she stepped into that arena. Growling, she crossed her arms over her chest again and closed her eyes. Think! What else could she do?

Then there was her lifeline, the buzzer to summon one of her classmates. Someone to run, or someone to fight? But no one knew how Black Panther fought, and she didn't want to leave that job to someone else. This was her responsibility. Immediately that narrowed down her choices of who could join her in the ring. She needed someone with maneuverability, someone that could either help give her an advantage so she could get to the exit, or someone who could get there themselves while she held her opponent off. The pickings were getting slim. Who would she pick-

An explosion sounded not too far away, making Rei's heart stutter and making her jump, completely startled and caught off guard. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen Bakugou since he had stalked off before the matches had started. Was he really out here as well, trying to think of what to do? Another explosion sounded, and Rei winced. Perhaps he wasn't planning. If anything, this sounded more like… anger management.

She shouldn't get involved. She shouldn't meddle. She should focus on her own match, think of a way to win. But she found her arms pushing her off of her perch, her feet carrying her toward where she had heard the blasts, eyes searching. Her head told her to leave, but it was her heart that carried her forward. At the end of it all, she cared.

Too much.

Suddenly an explosion rang out in front of her, covering with a wave of smoke. Coughing and spluttering, completely unprepared for the onslaught, she tried to clear her vision and her senses as she stumbled backward. She was sensitive to these things, damn it!

"Who the hell's there?"

Rei froze. He hadn't seen her yet, but surely he had heard her coughing and had caught on to the fact that someone had intruded on him. From his violent tone she knew that he wanted to be alone, and he was ready to physically fight anyone that intruded into his space. And yet, she shook her head, calling out unsteadily.

"Bakugou, it's me."

"Akatsuki?"

The smoke finally dissipated enough for Rei to see once again. The smoke had been much more violent than usual, her lungs still trying to dispel the last remnants even as red eyes came into view. He looked furious, though perhaps slightly less now that he knew who it was. But the glower remained on his face, even as the two made their way toward one another, Bakugou storming over and leaning over her in anger as she waved her hand in front of her nose, sucking in a full breath of clean air. "The hell're you doing here?"

Rei narrowed her eyes at him. "I came out here to think of a plan." Looking around, she surveyed the broken trees and newly created clearing, the ground still smouldering with hot ashes. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" He barked laugh, catching Rei off guard again. "Every damn thing! That half wit Deku is on my team."

"And breaking a forest down is gonna fix it?"

He glared back at her, a death stare as he tried to push her down. "Shut up."

"No, you listen to me." Rei went on the offensive, refusing to back down. "You're on a team. Do you know how lucky you are?"

"Not lucky enough-"

"_For once shut the fuck up and listen to me!_"

He immediately fell silent, lips still parted slightly in shock. Rei's eyes glittered, half in enragement, half in sorrow. "I don't have a fucking partner. It's not even guaranteed that I'll make it to the buzzer, let alone the exit. I don't fucking care that it's Midoriya on your team, because that's one more person on your side that I don't have a luxury of having."

Red eyes turned away, still fuming. "He'll only slow me down."

"Then outrun him."

"He's fucking weak."

"He's fourth in our class! He no longer snaps in half when he uses his quirk!"

"He shouldn't be here!"

"Stop playing a damn pity party for yourself and get your shit together!" It was times like then when Rei knew in the back of her mind that her temper eventually would be her undoing. She had tried for years to get her angry streak to go away, but when riled it was impossible to stop her from saying exactly what was on her mind. Of course it would be her most explosive classmate that saw the worst of her. The tears threatened to rise in her eyes as she shook her head at him. "I don't care if you leave him in the dust. But stop fucking complaining and do your damn job. Win. Get this practical over with. Isn't that what a hero would do?"

It was apparent that neither of them were going to budge. The two of them put together, the temperamental hot heads of their class, was a recipe for disaster. But Bakugou fell into silence, settling for glaring holes into her head instead. Rei refused to back down, face dangerously neutral as she slid back into control over her unchecked anger. "You're supposed to be the number one in our class, right? Just… win."

When it became clear that he wasn't going to respond, she began to back away slowly, taking a few steps and letting her gaze linger on him for a moment longer before turning sharply on her heel, walking away. Why had she done that? Stupid, stupid, stupid. She closed her eyes and sighed for a moment, letting her mask fall, disappointment clear on her face. Was this what he wanted? To see her unwravel, angry, and completely undone, bearing her true self to the world? She should have just let him be, not fight with him. It was clear that she hadn't made a difference, only riled him further.

"Wait."

She stopped in her tracks. Rei refused to turn around, simply doing as he asked. For a few moment she was unsure if he was even going to continue, but she was too prideful to turn around. Just as she was about to move away again, he spoke. "I… need your help."

That was enough to get her to turn her head around. She kept her face deceptively neutral, although she raised an eyebrow in curiosity, a gesture that encouraged him to continue. He looked away for a moment, as though debating if continuing the conversation was worth it for his pride. Eventually, he looked back at her, albeit sheepishly. "I want your opinion." Rei turned around fully, hands at her side, telling him through her body language that she was listening. "I have a plan."

"To fight All Might?" He nodded at her deduction, making her cross her arms in thought. "You're already a good tactician. I don't think you need my opinion."

"Will you just listen?" His temper began to flare again, and Rei shut her mouth wisely, only nodding in response. Shifting his weight, he took a few steps closer to her so he didn't have to feel like he was shouting. "He has those limiters, but I don't know how much weaker they make him."

Rei nodded. "For the other teachers, they're half their weight, but considering how much force All Might can endure…"

"He'll need extra to compensate for his quirk." Bakugou finished her conjecture.

Eyebrows furrowing, Rei lifted a hand to her chin as she thought. "So we have no idea how much it actually limits his strength. You'll need to test it, most likely, to see how much he can endure."

"Obviously it'll still have to be strong, but not the full arsenal of my gauntlets."

An idea popped into Rei's brain. "Then what about something that's more flashy than powerful? Then you can determine if he can actually endure anything else?"

"That's what I thought."

Rei thought for a moment more, then shrugged her shoulders apologetically. "Other than that, I don't have much. To be honest, you'll probably have to go in at one hundred percent if you want to get out alive." She paused, trying to find the words to say. "Just… don't hold back."

Scoffing, he narrowed his glare at her again. "You have to say it?"

Lips twitching, Rei averted her gaze. "My apologies. I forgot who I'm dealing with."

Through the trees, a voice sounded through the clearing, a bit distant and shadowy. "_Group: Sero and Mineta. Practical Examination. Ready, go!" _

Rei lifted her gaze to the sky above, as though looking for a signal. Her brain turned. If they were already on Sero's exam… She turned to Bakugou. "You're up next, aren't you?"

The dark look had returned to Bakugou's face, surely thinking about Midoriya and the inevitable clash and arguing he would have to deal with. Rei knew that there was nothing she could say to him now that would pull him out of it. Instead she watched as he nodded, walking out of the clearing and heading toward the designated battle zone. Falling into step, the two of them walked side by side in relative silence.

Thankfully it was probably the closest site to the observation building. It wasn't a far walk, the time passing relatively quickly before Rei suddenly found herself standing in front of a massive gate. Perhaps it was because she was so lost in thought that the time passed quickly, her thoughts turning toward her own fight. Looking up into the sky she took a deep breath in, letting it out slowly as she rolled her shoulders back. She looked to Bakugou, who had been doing a similar thing before he lowered his gaze to shoulder level, staring ahead impassively.

"Bakugou." Rei tentatively placed a hand on his gauntlet, right where it met his arm. Her gloved hand touched his skin, forcing him to look at her in slight confusion. There was nothing but determination in her gaze, attempting to convey the peace that she had and the faith she felt in him. "I don't care if you carry this grudge with you, no matter how petty I think it is." She saw him narrow his eyes at her again, but she simply shook her head, leveling him with a gaze of her own. "Just… win. You'd better win. Otherwise, I won't forgive you."

The sound of footsteps made their way to her sensitive ears, drawing her attention as she looked down the path. Midoriya was bolting in their direction, running to catch up and make sure he made it in time for their test. The moment she pulled her hand away from Bakugou's arm he turned his attention behind him, sending a brief glare before turning forward again. Knowing that he was in his zone, Rei simply moved away, walking back down the pathway and meeting Midoriya a few steps away. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she looked at him, watching green eyes widen in surprise. "Good luck." He nodded in acceptance, although he was still slightly bewildered as to why she was there, but he reluctantly watched as she disappeared down the path again.

Rei shoved her hands into her pockets. Against the weather, she had worn her costume jacket on top of her black ensemble, hands feeling each pocket and double checking for her tools, making sure that everything was in place. She would need every advantage she could get when going against her mentor, even if it made her a little warm in the summer.

"_Team Midoriya and Bakugou. Practical Examination. Ready, go!" _

Striding forward, she made her way to the entrance to Field Gamma. She was as ready as she could be. She would see her future through.

Just as Bakugou would see himself through.

* * *

AN: I always feel like I have a million things to say in these notes, but I never remember them by the time it comes to actually write them...

Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the past few! I promise the next one will be much beefier :) We're finally getting into the exams! Also, I finally decided to do the thing and catch up on the manga. I now have a pretty good idea of where I want to go with the story... How do we all feel about introducing some romantic tensions and jealousy from my shitty explosive son?

Also, my new Bakugou top from UNIQLO just came in and I'm so happy :D I get to subtly rep my shitty son now irl. I've felt particularly inspired recently, so I might post another bonus chapter soon. Who's interested?

**As always, thank you for your reviews!**

**FireFox614**: I think I almost started crying when I saw you suggested "Grumpy Cat" as the official ship name. I'm forever referring to this ship from now on by that, and nothing else can change my mind. Thank you for your review! I am unsure of when exactly the emotions and feels are going to come out, but it might not be for a while... But I promise that they will happen eventually!

**dragontamer64**: I am glad that my characters can even provide some practice drawing! I'm literally still in shock that people would actually think about drawing Rei, like I've never really thought that people would take my story that seriously. In all seriousness though, I promise the future content will be intense, but will have an (eventual) good ending. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with a couple loose ends, but it's coming together! As always, thank you for your review! I know I can always count on you, and I always look forward to what you write :D

**yaoi4adollar**: Oh yes. If you are here for all this fluffiness and then a bunch of angsty drama to go down, you're absolutely in the right place. We're getting closer to the camping arc! Please look forward to the future content. Also, thank you so much for reviewing in like, every chapter. I really really appreciate it!

**ansegiel**: LOL flirty Bakugou is also fun to write, and just as fun if not more fun than soft Bakugou. Thank you so much for the constant reviews! Thank you thank you thank you :)

**Kaiko Pyon**: Thank you for your review! I'm glad you really like my interpretation of Bakugou, and that you love Rei as well. I feel like I've tried to put a lot of heart and soul into both of them to make things seem natural and flow-y. That seriously means a lot to me that you like their interpretations. Thank you!

**ILikeFoxes828**: Wow, no joke, I'm still in awe that people read my story and enjoy it so much. To hear about someone IRL recommending my story makes me want to explode. Thank you to the both of you for reading and sticking with things! We're finally moving back into some of the more canon things, but there will be more fluff before we get super angsty, so look forward to all of it!

**If you like these chapters, please review!**

**More fluff is to eventually come, and more angst as well.**

**(I might post a bonus chapter before the next update, but it won't take place of the regular updates, so please look forward to the Final Exams - Part 2 on next Sunday as per usual!)**


	22. Final Exams (Part 2)

**Chapter 22**

**Final Exams (Part 2)**

* * *

"_Team Midoriya and Bakugou have passed!" _

Rei breathed out a sigh of relief that she hadn't realized she had been holding. It had been almost fifteen minutes since the exam had begun, which in retrospect wasn't as long as the test could have been. But the apprehension had been building, the silence almost more telling than any sound could. In the end Rei was filled with relief.

They had won. Bakugou had won.

This time, it was her turn to win.

"_Yo! Akatsuki-san!_"

Flinching at the loudness that assaulted her eardrums, Rei startled at Present Mic's sudden, unannounced voice. Was he seriously projecting over the entire field right now to talk to her? This wasn't normal.

"_If you can hear me, this is a courtesy call so to speak, you hear? Listen up! Currently, the only classmates you cannot call on for this test are Kirishima, Satou, Sero, Midoriya, and Bakugou. Anyone else in the class is fair game, alright?"_

Golden eyes widened in shock and a bit of horror. Midoriya and Bakugou had passed, but what had been the price? How bad had the damage been to them, that they were unable to be called upon? Had All Might really gone in without any intention of pulling punches, even with limiters? Suddenly Rei began to feel rather uncertain about herself.

From what she could remember, Kirishima and Satou were out from complete exhaustion and from overdoing their quirks against Cementoss. Sero must have gone down in his fight against Midnight, since she wasn't there to see their team's win, therefore leaving it up to Mineta to score a victory since the latter's name hadn't been called. But to hear that both Midoriya and Bakugou had gone down, even with a victory, left her unsettled. She had talked with Bakugou about how limited All Might would be, which would determine how much Bakugou could push himself. Had it really been that bad? Had he truly been that strong, even with multiple restraints?

"_Alright! Good luck to you!" _

Fortunately, Rei had scratched out Bakugou's name at the last minute of decision brainstorming she had done while waiting. She had planned for the fact that he would be overworked from his match, allowing for little recovery time between the tenth and eleventh tests. Even if he had technically been fine, he wouldn't be able to operate at a high level, unlike some of their other classmates who would receive some sort of reprieve before Rei's exam. Her plan hadn't gone completely down the drain yet; she had also eliminated Midoriya from that list for similar reasons.

But they had actually gone down, and were out for the count. Two of the most determined, and in Rei's mind, a few of the strongest in their class, were physically out for the count. It was a psychological burden she bore, and one that threatened to psych her out. Would the same happen to her? Shuddering, she rolled her shoulders back, trying to recollect herself before the inevitable countdown.

"_Team Akatsuki, practical examination. Ready, go!" _

The voice burst over the intercom just as the doors opened. Rei wasted no time bursting forward, knowing that all eyes were on her now, at least all the eyes on the bodies of those that were still conscious. She was the final exam of the day, and arguably the most anticipated. Who would she call on, if anyone at all? How would she fare against the infamous pro hero Black Panther?

There were still small bits of rubble left around the area from Ashido and Kaminari's test against Principal Nezu, larger fragments blocking the short roadway from the entrance. Without flinching she jumped from piece to piece, scaling the mountain of scrap and emerging onto the top of a nearby roof. Her eyes were scanning as quickly and thoroughly as she could, trying to see everything at once as she watched for her opponent. He could be anywhere, lurking in the shadows. Chirasaki didn't seem to be anywhere on the top skyline, but Rei knew that that could change in an instant. Most likely, he was waiting in an alleyway, biding his time before popping out at her, listening for her footsteps, lying in wait.

She was at a disadvantage now that she realized he was hiding somewhere in the map. Should she make a beeline for the buzzer that she could see in the distance, an appealing red button that sat on the rooftop in the dead center of the chaotic metal landscape? Or should she take a longer route around? There was more variability with the longer route, but it was most likely that Chirasaki would expect her to take that route. But the most direct route was obvious. Where would he be? For a moment she paused on the rooftop, trying to reach a decision quickly as her eyes lingered on the prize at the center, mind racing.

He was so fast that Rei had to react instinctually, rolling to the side and popping up to her feet quickly, breathing picking up at having been discovered and the fact that she hadn't actually seen him coming. His fist smashed into the floor where she had just been standing, fracturing the ground and putting a massive dent into the cement. Sucking in a breath, she knew now exactly how hard this test would be.

Black Panther wasn't pulling any punches. She couldn't hold back either.

"Nice dodge. You trying to get to that buzzer?"

Rei glared, readying herself up again. His voice was slightly distorted as it came through his helmet, completely obscuring all of his face from sight as her eyes looked him up and down. "I don't have to tell you anything."

"Good choice. This is a test after all."

Before he could even finish Rei was off and running again, throwing herself over the rooftops and weaving up and over the various pipes, bouncing off of them quickly and agilely. But she could hear his footsteps behind her, gradually creeping up behind her as they barely pounded louder than her own. Stealth; it had been the one thing he had hammered into her head before she left Hosu City. That stray thought was the last thing that went through her head as a kick landed on her back, sending her forward with a cry as she lost control and fell onto a railing on the top of a building. Her entire torso hurt from the impact, groaning as she gripped the rail tightly, head swaying over a hundred foot drop down below.

Her opponent landed behind her, not quite approaching her and instead almost viewing her with curiosity and disdain. "Is that all you have?" Chirasaki sounded rather disappointed. "You haven't learned as much as I hoped."

Rei growled, but suddenly Chirasaki slammed his boot into the floor, the ground cracking beneath him. "Hate to do this, but my goal is to keep you from getting that buzzer and getting out of here. If you haven't improved, then you don't deserve to be here, Rei-chan." Slamming his foot into the ground one more time, he bounded away nimbly as the floor caved in, throwing Rei off guard and sending her plummeting to her doom. She cried as she fell, but her eyes narrowed in determination. No! Not this time. She couldn't give up yet.

In the short few moments she had before colliding with the ground far below, she braced herself for a landing, sliding around a bit as the rubble beneath her feet shifted, although she caught herself as her hand shot out. Unfortunately her hand was sliced by a sheet of metal, earning a sharp hiss as she pulled back and steadied herself, the wound leaking blood at a considerable rate. It would heal in time, but that was one injury already that she didn't need, and a foolish one at that. Looking around quickly, she hopped around as quietly as possible, making a quick escape into an adjacent room. She couldn't stop moving, no matter the pain or the terror. She had to keep moving. Battling with Black Panther for real was like a game of cat and mouse, and although she was rather feline with her quirk, she was undeniably the mouse when it came down to things here.

She couldn't help but get the feeling that he was indeed toying with her, noticing how he didn't immediately follow her down to act as the clean up crew. It was only after she was sneaking out a side door that she heard him land in the room, his voice booming.

"Where'd you go, little cat?"

Rei glowered. Like he'd get her with that one. Thankfully the doorway was partially open, the gap just big enough for Rei to slip through with her small and slender frame. Back outside, she began running away as silently as possible, remaining on the ground. Hopping back up to the skyline would create too much noise, alerting Chirasaki to her precise location. She would have to keep quiet and on the down low for now, if she wanted a chance at getting the buzzer.

Now that she was in the thick of the fight, she knew exactly how it felt to feel weak and powerless against her opponent. Surely this was what some of her classmates had felt, once they realized exactly what was wrong. The things they had to overcome, did they feel as trapped as Rei did? Keeping her breathing steady as she hustled through the alleyways she began to reorient herself based on her last location. She had to keep moving. Otherwise she might as well resign and fail the exam. Turning left down an even more narrow road, she looked up to the sky. Eventually she would have to make a break for the open air to completely reorient herself.

Suddenly, an idea struck her. She was being too predictable. Chirasaki knew that she was going to beeline for one of two places, and she needed to get up top to do it. If he was smart like Rei knew he was, he would be prowling up high, looking down from the crow's perspective to watch her squirm down below. No, she needed a new plan. Sliding into a fully covered building, she closed her eyes as she listened carefully, placing her hands down on the ground as she listened for his telltale signs. She could hear his footsteps, significantly louder than she remembered, now that she thought about it. Was he being purposefully loud? Unless…

Rei nearly gasped as a new realization hit her. Of course! It was so clear now that she thought about it; the weights were pulling him down. Chirasaki was strong and had the endurance of a beast, but the two of them had talked with one another in an oddly relevant conversation about stamina when she had been at his internship, as they had picked apart her fight with Todoroki during the sport's festival.

"_The best answer is that your stamina ran out. You said it yourself that he was slowing down. Remember that all quirks have their limitations. If you can outlast them, it doesn't matter if they're close range or long range. Eventually, you can close in for the kill, if you know how to wear them down."_

"_But that was given that Todoroki didn't use his left side. If he did, he would almost be unstoppable."_

"_True, but the key is almost. Everyone has a downside, and as a hero you have to exploit their weaknesses if you can't immediately take them down." _

Inside, Rei was burning from his last comment that he had just made on the roof. He had stated that she hadn't grown at all since the last they met, that she was the exact same girl he had taken under his wing. But he was wrong; he hadn't seen all the nights she had been up on her roof and out on the town, working up a sweat and pushing herself to go longer and harder. She had taken his words to heart, had pushed herself to extend her stamina, to make sure that she could outlast her opponents. Golden eyes glittering, she clenched a fist to her chest. This wasn't just a test for her final grade this term; this had turned into something personal. This was the true examination of her improvement, the true mark of how far she had come.

She would prove to him that she was stronger, how he had been too quick to assume and assess her.

He was wrong.

* * *

Everyone who was able to still move had gathered back in the observation room, every set of eyes trained on the screens ahead of them. There was a solemn tension hanging in the air, everyone's breath catching as Rei fell to near certain doom. The cameras lost sight of her completely, instead following Black Panther around as he casually leapt from rooftop to rooftop, clearly conserving his strength while patrolling in a near whimsical fashion. The difference in their brute strength had been clearly decided in an instant, mere seconds, leaving a sense of dread for their quiet and icy classmate.

Uraraka clenched her fists in front of her chest, leaning over to talk with the other girls of their class. "Do you think Akatsuki-san is okay?"

"Kero." Asui blinked, holding up a hand. "Tsuki-chan can fall from heights taller than that. But there was quite a bit of rubble and sharp metal that went with her."

Tsuyu's astute but completely blunt analysis barely made anyone feel better. Momo shifted, her arms wrapped around her, black eyes never leaving the screens. "Everyone was faced with their weakness. For Tsuki-chan…" she trailed off.

"Akatsuki-san is very well rounded, but compared to Black Panther, she's clearly outmatched." It was Iida who spoke, much to the girls' surprise. Iida and Akatsuki clearly did not get along, what with the way the black cat girl cringed away from his loudness and tended to steer clear from his commanding and abrasively loud personality. But his voice only showed concern and keen interest in his classmate's position, thinking out loud as he made his own connections. "Where many of us have one or two clear advantages, Akatsuki is overall balanced and relatively powerful. But to be put in a position where she's clearly outranked in almost every aspect…"

Momo shuddered at the thought. How was she holding up now? There was still no sight of their classmate, the cameras unable to detect or even find her. Surely she wasn't still inside the broken warehouse, or else Black Panther wouldn't be running around. But now Rei was at a distinct advantage, having been crushed in one round and forced to take to the narrow and tangle corridors of Field Gamma. She needed to get up to the top, but what with the way that her opponent was running circuits, Rei had little chance.

"Poor Tsuki-chan…"

"She'll think of something though." Momo spoke with confidence, finding that even she was placing more and more faith in her friend as she talked. It was as though simply by speaking she found her confidence building, convincing herself that things would turn out alright. "Tsuki-chan's outsmarted everyone in our class at one point or another. I'm sure she'll have a plan soon."

"Kero. I hope so." The time was running away, slowly but surely. Over five minutes had passed. It wasn't significant, but what with the way that things were panning out, and how Rei was still missing in the field…

"Look!" Kaminari pointed to the screen, drawing everyone's attention. "There she is!"

True enough, Rei had popped back up into view, almost completely resetting back to where she had fallen from view, now one building over. She had jumped high into the air, a determined look on her face once again as golden eyes locked onto her opponent. Her reappearance had been flashy, immediately drawing Black Panther's attention as he redirected himself, shifting directions and beelining for her. He was nearly halfway across the field, Rei only watching him with cautious eyes before beginning the chase, turning over her shoulder and running away. The class looked on in confusion at her redirection, not fully understanding whatever it was that her plan was.

"What's going on? Is she just gonna run away?"

Yaoyorozu's eyes narrowed as she watched the screens carefully. No, Rei had a plan, even if none of them realized it. That was just who she was. Even if she was physically outmatched, outplayed, and backed into a corner, she always had a plan.

Momo had to believe that Rei would come out on top.

* * *

She had successfully baited his attention. Golden eyes watched carefully as he immediately redirected his momentum, beginning to bee line for her position. Keeping her face carefully schooled into a neutral appearance, she waited until he began to draw closer before running away, making her way toward the east side of the field. If it was a game of cat and mouse, then she would play her due role. It wasn't as though this mouse didn't have a few tricks up her sleeve either. Breaking into a sprint she ran as fast as she could, vaulting over buildings and pipes and keeping careful tabs on how close her opponent was getting.

Rei almost made it to the east wall before Chirasaki made it within a hundred feet of her. Reaching into her pocket, her fingers felt the familiar shape of the smoke grenade, discreetly wrapping it in her hands before landing on a particularly large building and hazarding a glance over her shoulder. He was fast approaching, barreling toward her position. Suddenly she stopped, whipping around with a grin. Her sudden change in pace was enough to make him falter just a bit, but not enough to come to a complete stop as Rei hurled the grenade at him, the two of them vanishing into a cloud of smoke.

Walking away as silently as possible, Rei hopped onto another roof before vanishing into an alleyway, backtracking in her steps. Sticking to the perimeter of Field Gamma as best as she could she silently navigated the alleyways, pausing after about thirty seconds to hide herself and press herself to the ground, listening for the heavy, tell tale footsteps of her chaser. In the distance she could hear him shifting around in confusion as the smoke began to clear, before racing in the direction of the buzzer. Rei grinned. It was perfect. Skulking around the walls, she knew that her plan had worked.

By baiting him into the smoke grenade, it would theoretically have given her some time to rush over either to the buzzer or to the exit. She knew that was what Chirasaki expected of her, what most people would want to do. They would want to get the ordeal done and over with as soon as possible. But Rei was willing to play with time, if it gave her an advantage. She had the time limit, but that didn't mean that this was a race to see who finished first. As long as she was mindful of how much time she had spent, she would be fine.

Stamina. She would play the game, and force her mentor to unwittingly play his part as well.

Repositioning herself, she waited another minute before clambering to the top of the water tank, looking out at Field Gamma from the far corner she now found herself in. She was nearly adjacent to the entrance she had come through, on the far end of the field and about as far from the exit as she could possibly be. But she kept her features schooled, watching as Chirasaki took another minute to bound around before seeing her figure on the water tank. Even from the distance, she could see that all the running around was beginning to wear on him. His leaps were more horizontal to the ground than vertical as he was trying to cover ground as quickly as possible, his crouches taking more time to recover from. Internally, she grinned. And who was the one who said he was disappointed in her for not changing?

He was barreling in her direction again, although now noticeably slower than the beginning of the test. This time, his knives were protruding from his gloves, a telltale sign that he wanted this to be over as soon as possible. That was fine. Rei still had a few tricks up her sleeve.

This was the one. She knew that the bait trick wouldn't work again, not on someone like Black Panther. She had one shot, one opportunity to make this work, her hands clenching next to her as she prepared herself. Up high on the water tower she watched his steady approach as he drew closer, finally coming upon her as he prepared for the final leap.

In the split second where he began to lift from his crouch, Rei took a running leap. It was too late for him to change his momentum, and Rei knew it. She wouldn't have much time, since he would most likely grab onto the water tank as soon as possible and redirect his momentum toward her. Aiming her arm at the next tallest building, she rejoiced as the small harpoon found its mark, pulling her far away from her opponent as she sailed through the sky. It yanked her harder than she remembered, almost flying too fast for comfort as she strained to see what was in front of her, eyes lidded from the wind. Did the support company make some improvements that she had disregarded? It reminded her to always read the new instructions.

But there was no time to think upon such improvements. Landing hard on the roof she quickly retracted the device and took off running. Grabbing another smoke grenade, she threw it at her feet to conceal her location, an attempt to throw him off one last time. There was a fifty-fifty chance it would work; he would either believe that she was trying the same trick again, or he would call her bluff and come running after her. It was a better chance than before, and she was willing to risk one more smoke grenade if it helped her in the long run. But this time, she ran like the wind, not even daring to look back.

Her destination was ahead. Running as fast as she could, she kept her ears peeled for the telltale sounds of heavy boots clambering after her. They were still in the distance, as it seemed as though her distraction had bought her a few more moments of time. In combination with the meaningless loops she had sent him running, she would have just enough time. After nearly another minute of running she finally arrived at the buzzer in all its red glory. Slamming her hands on the button, she looked up to the skies. She had thought she knew who she wanted, but now that her plans had changed there was no one else she would want, no other quirk that would work as perfectly in coordination with her plan as any other could.

"I choose Jirou!"

She knew her pick would be unexpected. In fact, she hadn't actually said anything to the girl she had just called. But she knew that Jirou was cooperative, and she would get the picture fast. There was no time to waste, as Chirasaki began closing in, slowly but surely. Rei took off again into the rooftops, leading her teacher on a new chase through the terrain.

This was her game now, and she would make him play by her rules.

"Aren't you tired of running, Rei-san?"

Biting her lip, Rei refused to answer. She didn't want anything to slip, not now that her plans were succeeding. She wanted to win, badly. She couldn't let anything up now. Instead she took off over a slick area of pipes that wove through the air, the building suddenly dropping way below their feet and leaving them on a playground of cylindrical branches. It would be another test of her concentration, but at this point, so would it be for her pursuer. Seconds after they had entered the area, she heard the telltale sound of metal crashing to the ground. With her back to her opponent, she grinned.

Chirasaki was losing his touch.

"Do you think that one of your classmates will help you outrun me?" He continued to antagonize her, apparently trying to make her doubt herself. "If you can't outrun me, then no one can. Those two boys from the sports festival that knocked themselves out in the match before you, they can't help you now!"

Rei grit her teeth, jaw locking in anger. She didn't need to be reminded. He was trying to distract her, make her lose concentration. Pushing all her other thoughts away, she began to loop through a complicated portion of the battle field, forcing Chirasaki to squeeze through some rather tricky loops. More pieces began falling to the ground, a certain sign that he was no longer trying to keep quiet and keep their surroundings intact, along with the fact that his footsteps were incredibly loud, no longer muted and muffled. They were almost as loud as Rei had been when she first started training with him, if not louder, due to his sheer size and weight. It was impressive enough that he was keeping up with her, what with how massive his frame was, almost as big as Endeavor. Still he managed to keep up, although he was struggling much more now, even if he tried not to show it.

Rei knew. She saw everything. She had trained with him.

"I've got you now! Even your friend can't save you now!"

_No you don't. I've got you right where I want you._

"_Team Akatsuki, adding Jirou to the team. Member now entering the field."_

Rei could grin with relief, starting a beeline for the entrance. She knew that Jirou would start running through the center, keeping to main roads. She would meet her there. But first…

Sifting through her jacket one more time, she pulled out another grenade. Tossing a look over her shoulder, she noticed that Chirasaki seemed to get the idea. "You can't hide from me now, Rei!"

This time she did grin, a wicked look on her face. "Who said I was hiding?" Pulling the pin and tossing it over her shoulder, she closed her eyes briefly for a moment as the flash went off, Chirasaki grunting as his vision stopped. It had been successful. Rei pushed onward, making her way to the main road and smiling when she saw Jirou's pink and purple outfit hurtling toward her as fast as possible. The earphone jack girl waved her hand. "Akatsuki!"

Jumping down from the buildings, Rei fell into step next to the comrade she had just called. "I have an idea. Get ready to blast him with your speakers on my mark. Until then, keep running toward the exit."

Jirou grinned, despite the serious circumstances. "I'd be more worried if you didn't have a plan."

Jirou's confidence was enough to evoke a smile from Rei as well, and although her grin was much more devious there was a mellow quality to this one in contrast to the one she had just tossed at her mentor. Pushing through the debris and making their way through the labyrinth, the duo felt more and more on their toes. Surely Black Panther had recovered from that flash grenade. Where was he now? Rei kept her ears and senses open, although it was a bit more difficult to sense where her opponent was when she had a companion running next to her, completely unaware of how loud she actually was.

They had made it over halfway through the map, and still no sign of Black Panther. Even Jirou was frowning, eyes darting everywhere through alleys and above their heads as she kept a lookout. "Where is he?"

Rei had a small scowl on her face, but she continued to strain her hearing. Suddenly she felt something behind them descending from above, and she pushed Jirou out of the way. "Look out!"

Jirou fell to the ground off to the side, but Rei had taken the brunt of the blow, sending her flying forward from the punch and leaving her breathless. Skidding and rolling to an eventual stop, she picked herself up as quickly as possible, watching as Chirasaki descended upon her like a vulture ready to pick at a piece of roadkill. His claws were out, menacing as though ready to tear his mentee into shreds. Rei refused to back down from the fight, readying her fists and watching him closely.

"Game's over, Rei. Not even an assist could save you."

"It's not over until I say it's over." The sudden confidence threw him off guard, making him falter in his steps. It was enough hesitation for Rei to break eye contact and look to her classmate, who had already recovered and was standing behind their opponent and to the side. "Jirou! Now!"

Chirasaki fell to his knees, completely overcome by Jirou's soundwaves in an instant. Even his helmet couldn't keep out the most harmful and powerful of Jirou's amplifications, Rei knowing that his enhanced hearing only adding another layer of pain as he fell powerlessly to the ground. The moment that Jirou let up Rei pounced, securing the handcuff to one of his hands as he panted on the ground, completely overcome. Rei watched tentatively, hovering over him as he gathered his senses and his wits about him, slowly coming back to his senses and recovering.

"Damn, I didn't see that coming."

"_Team Akatsuki and Jirou, pass! This concludes the practical exams for Class 1-A." _

Rei heaved a sigh of relief, falling to her knees as she sat next to her mentor, who was pulling himself up from the ground. He took the limiters off his wrists first, shaking his hands out at the sudden sensation of feeling almost weightless. Freeing himself up he removed his helmet, shaking out his hair and looking over to Rei. Both of them were covered in sweat from exertion, although Chirasaki surprisingly had a smile on his face. "Congratulations. Now that it's over, I see your end game."

Jirou sheepishly moved to Rei's side, offering her a hand to stand up. Gratefully accepting, Rei offered a small smile. "Thanks. For coming in on short notice."

The other girl scratched her cheek, looking to the side. "Nah, it's fine. I was just… surprised. So was everyone else."

"As was I." Chirasaki made his way to his feet, towering over the two girls. Even Jirou still looked a little intimidated, but Rei held her ground, looking up in curiosity. "To be honest, I predicted that you would call that Todoroki boy, after I found out that the two boys in the test prior were out of commission."

Rei only smiled mysteriously. "Originally, I was. But I remembered something that you taught me on the first day of my internship, something that you told me about my fight with Todoroki at the sports festival."

"Oh?" He looked at her, clearly unsure of where this was going. "Do tell."

"You told me that my stamina ran out in that fight. And," she grinned a bit cheekily, "that in a fight, my goal is to outlast and outsmart my opponent."

Her response earned a laugh from her mentor, the three of them beginning to move out of Field Gamma to regroup with the rest of the class. "I did, didn't I? Good to know that something stuck with you."

Rei glowered. "Of course. I've been working on my stamina too, you know?"

"Clearly you have. You really had me running that gauntlet."

"What can I say? Learned from the best."

"Hah! Wonder what Reina would say to that."

"Tell her yourself. Otherwise I'll tell her that you came to school to beat me up."

Jirou blinked at the friendly banter going on between the two. It was the most animated she had ever seen her classmate, no longer a cold and reserved girl but willingly engaging with her mentor in a friendly fashion. She had noticed that Rei was becoming more open around the class, very slowly, but there were moments peppered here and there. Seeing her like this was almost a completely different story. Did it have something to do with her trust?

Chirasaki patted Rei on the back, taking the lead. "Go ahead and head back for your debrief. I'm sure your classmates will be happy to see you. I'll be at Reina's."

Eyes blinked in surprise, but Rei only nodded before turning away with Jirou, the two girls taking off in step. For a while they walked in comfortable silence, but eventually Jirou began shifting around nervously, twirling her earphone jacks.

"Akatsuki, why did you choose me?"

Golden eyes turned to her classmate, looking slightly lost. "Why?"

Jirou nodded. "To be honest, I thought you were going to pick Todoroki. We all sort of thought it. He's the strongest, and probably the most capable to deal with Black Panther. If you chose him…"

Rei started to catch on. Heaving a sigh, she crossed her arms over her chest as they began the walk back to the observation center. "I know. In my initial plan, I was going to run away. Black Panther outmatches me in every sense. If I could get to the buzzer, then I could have Todoroki create an ice wall or a distraction for us to escape." She fell silent, eyes lost in thought. Yes, that had been her original plan. It was the safest route, the one that assured her victory the most, if only she could get to the buzzer. "But," she continued, "Black Panther told me something right before he broke that roof at the beginning of the test. He said I hadn't improved since he last saw me, something that made me mad."

"Akatsuki…"

Shaking her head, Rei looked back at Jirou with a small smile. "But that got me thinking. The first thing that he told me was that my stamina was lacking. Ever since then, that's been the one thing I've been working on. Every night I go for runs, pushing myself further and further. He didn't know that. When I thought about it more closely," she added darkly, "this test came down to stamina. Black Panther may outmatch me in every sense, but the teachers were all weighed down with those limiters. He's a stealth specialist, but with all that weight, even he wouldn't be exempt from exhaustion after a while."

"Sorry, but I don't think I quite get it yet…"

Rei only smiled with understanding. "Black Panther was the one who taught me to muffle my footsteps when landing. It takes a lot of control, but it's effective for stealth operations. Even with my sensitive hearing, I'm hard pressed to find him when he's fully in control. But if he started to tire…"

The factors began to add up. Jirou's eyes widened. "Oh, I get it! You'd be able to hear his footsteps!"

"Right."

"That was how you were able to mislead him and direct him with those smoke grenades. You knew where he was after he began to tire, and you continued to wear him out." But Jirou frowned again, lifting a hand to her chin. "But, that still doesn't explain why you asked me."

"Call it a streak of competitiveness." Shrugging her shoulders, Rei at least looked a little sheepish at her admission. "After he called me out, I wanted to beat him. I didn't want to just run away. I wanted to prove that I've gotten stronger, that he should keep his faith in me as his student." She looked at Jirou, pointing a hand to her ears in emphasis. "We both have sensitive hearing, and we're close combat specialists. I knew if I wore him down, his reaction times would be a bit slower. Adding in the fact that he had no idea what your quirk was, I knew that I would be able to pin him down with your quirk."

Rei had done it again. Jirou was blown away by her strategy. It was effective and simple, and most of it devised in a moment's notice. She had entered with one plan and emerged victorious with another. Shaking her head, Jirou smiled. "You're really something, Akatsuki."

The small girl gave another shrug of her shoulders, tilting her head in a gesture that dismissed the praise a bit. "It came down to the fact that I know almost everyone's quirks. I knew that I couldn't just pick whoever's considered the strongest. Everyone had a specialty, and if I can play to that strength, then that'll be the deciding factor every time. Plus," she added with a sheepish grin, "I knew you would listen to my plan. You're a great team member to work with."

The praise was unexpected, and Jirou flushed at the sudden comment. Akatsuki really wasn't so cold once someone got to know her and push beyond that icy exterior. She was thoughtful and more than willing to use her resources to the fullest extent. Perhaps that made her a bit terrifying and a little cold, but there was no doubt in Jirou's mind that Akatsuki would be incredibly successful going into the future. In her final practical exam she had proven once again that her ultimate ace was her mind, her sharpness and willingness to adapt and run circles around her opponents.

"Thanks."

The smile lingered on Rei's face. "Yeah. No problem. Thanks for helping me pass."

With the test over, she could refocus on other things. Namely, to find out what damage had been done to her other classmates. The image of Bakugou and Midoriya surfaced in her mind, and Rei's exterior hardened at the thought. Just what had happened while she was preparing for her own exam?

* * *

"Akatsuki-san!"

"Congratulations!"

"As expected of our ice princess!"

Rei's face scowled at that last comment from Kaminari, but Yaoyorozu had moved to meet her halfway as the rest of the class came pouring out of the building. Jirou and Akatsuki rejoined with the group as they all returned to the classroom to change out of their costumes and retire for the day, most every chattering away and throwing in congratulations to their final classmate who had passed. Momo clasped her hands in front of her chest, eyes glimmering. "Congratulations, Tsuki-chan! You did well on your exam."

"Thanks, Momo." Rei smiled. "We all did great today."

Jirou playfully nudged Rei in her side, much to the latter's surprise at the familiarity. "Seriously, Akatsuki barely even needed my help out there. She's the smartest planner in our class."

"Midoriya's up there too." Rei paused, trailing off. "Speaking of which…"

Yaoyorozu's face grew solemn. "Bakugou-san and Midoriya-san are still with Recovery Girl. They'll probably miss the debrief, based on their injuries in their fight against All Might."

Rei couldn't help the knot in her stomach that grew again. Her eyes narrowed. "Tell me what happened."

The two girls surrounding Rei began to delve into the blow by blow from Midoriya and Bakugou's practical, about how the two had bickered away endlessly at the beginning but somehow managed to create a near cohesive plan by the end. They had almost gotten away, but All Might had been stronger than they expected. In the end, Bakugou's gauntlets were shattered, and the explosive boy had fought with his full strength even without them. Neither Yaoyorozu nor Jirou mentioned anything about Bakugou's injuries, aside from the times he was slammed into the ground and surely had hurt his back and extremities from such force, but a frown began to grown on Rei's face as her mind lingered on his costume components. She knew that those gauntlets acted as a support for Bakugou's sweat secretion; he had almost completely thrown himself out during the sports festival since he had been forced to leave his gauntlets behind, pushing his quirk to the extremes and severely damaging his forearms and hands during the battle royale and the one on one matchups. If this was anything similar, Rei knew that he was going to be in a world of pain for the next few days. She ran her hands over her own forearms, her touch ghosting over where she imagined he felt the most pain.

Midoriya had gotten off slightly lighter than Bakugou, who had absolutely thrown everything in his fight directly with All Might. From what Yaoyorozu described, the green haired boy had wanted to run away, but had mostly been dragged into fighting by his partner. He had badly injured his back, but in the end was able to deliver a crippling blow to All Might and drag both himself and Bakugou across the finish line in the end. From what it sounded like, those two had come off with the most severe injuries, Bakugou suffering from both stamina exhaustion and being tossed around like a rag doll by All Might's fists. She wanted to check in on the two. Perhaps a visit to Recovery Girl's office was in order.

Changing out of her costume in the locker room, Rei scoured her case and her surroundings for any sort of letter. Sure enough, a piece of paper had made its way to the bottom of her locker, a small piece of cardstock with neat type scrawled across the front. Picking it up she read through it quickly, her mind pulling the pieces together.

_We have updated your uniform to integrate the latest tech regarding your harpoon weapons inside your gauntlets. Please note that the power has been increased by about forty percent, which will result in harder reeling and overall additional force. If unprepared, further injuries may occur. Please adjust your preparations accordingly to make up for these changes._

Rei scowled. A lot of help that did, now that she had already used them. Forty percent difference?! No wonder she had felt like her arms was about to tear off from the unexpected torque. If she was any other person, her arm most likely would have dislocated from the sudden pull that she had experienced. She would have to be more careful in reading these cards next time; she wasn't going to lie and say that she definitely didn't toss the paper aside in order to change into her costume faster for the test. Going into the future, she would need to be more meticulous.

But what was done was done. Neatly folding the shimmering material back into the case and tucking away all the various pieces, she packed up her case and waited for the other girls to finish changing. They walked as a group back to the classroom, Rei simply watching and occasionally adding her own comments as they talked about their practical exams, consoling Ashido and celebrating with the others. It was after Rei made it back to her seat in the classroom and began packing up that she saw Bakugou's bag still in his chair, along with Midoriya's belongings right behind him. Her heart stilled, and she slowed her motions down. She wanted to talk with Bakugou, no matter how long it would take for him to get back.

Yaoyorozu had finished packing up, standing and turning to Rei inquisitively as she took in her friend who sat motionless in her chair. After a moment Rei looked up, shaking her head. "Go on without me. I'm going to wait for Midoriya and Bakugou." Her friend sent her a concerned look, but she accepted Rei's decision and parted ways with her. One by one the rest of the class trickled out, some throwing concerned or curious looks at Rei as she remained determinedly in her seat, ignoring everyone else and messing with her phone as a distraction and an excuse. It was once everyone had left that Rei finally let down her guard with a sigh. She had texted Reina to update her on the reason why she wouldn't be coming home on time, defending herself by stating that she was going to help collect her neighbor's belongings before heading home. Her guardian seemed to buy her excuse, replying with an affirmation before falling silent once more.

It was finally time to debrief herself and relax. She had passed her practical exam despite the odds she had found herself pushing up against at the beginning. It was another wall that she had overcome, another test that had pushed her even further than she thought she could go. Slumping in her desk she massaged her palms out in a distracted manner, her mind drifting off beyond her physical being. Mentally Rei had returned to the battlefield, reviewing the play by play as she checked her mistakes and her strengths. It was clear that in the first part of her test, she had been overthinking things. Her mind had been racing, trying to think of all the possibilities that could happen during the exam and trying to calculate the probabilities of where Chirasaki would strike first.

Perhaps it would have been more effective to trust her instincts. After all, she had yet to be proven wrong when going with her gut. If she had been more decisive in the beginning, she wouldn't have frozen while debating her options, wouldn't have gotten caught and sent plummeting through the warehouse. Her fingers traced over her hand where the cut had already mostly healed, pink skin slightly raised as her body continued to work hard to heal itself. Still, she couldn't find it in herself to be disappointed in how things had turned out. She had been loath to call on Todoroki for defense, even if it was a fair option. To call on such an overpowered ability almost felt like cheating, and she was glad that she had changed her plan to use Jirou instead. To understand her peers and their quirks, and thus maximize their effectiveness: surely that was an applicable skill in the real world. She wouldn't be afforded the absolute strongest or most well rounded all the time, and would have to work with what she had.

It was even better, since Chirasaki hadn't seen it coming either. If Rei had called on Todoroki, there was a chance that her mentor could have come up with a quick plan to overcome any obstacles they threw at him. They would have been at a disadvantage, since Chirasaki knew the half hot, half cold boy's quirk and style from the sports festival. Bringing in Jirou kept things mysterious, therefore giving Rei a slight advantage that she had seized.

Jirou had been right; her plans had succeeded once again. First Midoriya, then her mentor. She wondered briefly if Chirasaki had been going easy on her, but dismissed that thought almost immediately. If anything he had pressed her harder, since he knew exactly what she could do. Unlike most of the matches, Rei had a distinct disadvantage, given that she had trained one on one with her opponent. While most of the teachers were familiar with the students and what they could do, it was nothing quite like Chirasaki and Rei's relationship, although arguably Aizawa and All Might also had first hand knowledge that they had taken into their battles today. But would there come a time when Rei couldn't scheme her way out? The idea unnerved her slightly, and she shifted forward in her seat.

The classroom door slid open, a set of green eyes clashing with gold, the former in surprise while the latter simply staring back in a cool and collected fashion. Midoriya paused in the doorway, unsure of exactly what to make of his classmate's presence. "A-Akatsuki-san?"

Rei nodded in greeting. "Midoriya-kun." She tilted her head to the side. "Are you alright?"

He chuckled sheepishly, closing the door behind him and hobbling slowly across the front of the classroom, scratching his head. "Yeah, Recovery Girl healed me up. I'll just be a little sore."

Looking to the clock, Rei blinked in shock. Nearly thirty minutes had passed since class had been dismissed. Had she really been sitting alone for that long? Standing up swiftly, she crossed the remaining distance, one costume rack still open and waiting for two more uniforms. Taking his costume bag from his hands, the black haired girl moved to put it away, even as Midoriya protested. "Ah, you don't really have to do that for me…"

"Better than having you strain your back further. Let me do this." She followed after him, monitoring his gait and making sure he wouldn't fall over as he collected his items. Hesitating for a moment, she tentatively spoke again. "Is… Bakugou alright?"

"Yeah." Midoriya missed the way her shoulders loosened and relaxed in relief at his admission, so focused on getting his bag up carefully and trying to shoulder it in a way that was as least painful as possible. He turned to look at Rei carefully. "He was worse off than I was. Recovery Girl said that he would need a little more time before he woke up."

"I see." Rei frowned for a moment before smoothing her face over. "May I ask a favor?"

"Huh?" So caught off guard, he didn't respond to Rei's question. Instead she took over, pressing forward and trying to explain herself.

"Could you get his uniform and costume case from the boy's locker room? I wanted to take his things over to Recovery Girl's temporary station so that he wouldn't have to go as far."

It was clear that Midoriya was completely surprised, lips parted as he fumbled for his words. Eventually he pulled himself together, though he still looked confused. "Sure. Yeah…" Dazedly, he watched as Rei pulled her bag over her shoulder before grabbing Bakugou's bag as well, gesturing for him to lead the way. The two of them walked down the hallway, Rei matching his pace and making sure she wasn't rushing him in any way. When they arrived in the locker room he muttered his excuse before disappearing into the room, taking a few minutes before finally emerging with a familiar case in hand.

Rei gave a small smile, taking the case gratefully. "Thank you. Take care of yourself today."

"Y-yeah…" Rei turned over her shoulder and began walking away, only making it a few steps before Midoriya called out her name again. "Akatsuki-san!" Stopping in the middle of the hallway, Rei turned around in curiosity, eyes blinking as she stared in confusion and waiting for him to continue. He seemed to struggle to find the proper words, but with a furrowed brow he finally spit it out. "Earlier today, when you were with Bakugou at the gate. Why were you there?"

She could hear the deeper question that lay underneath, and for a moment her brows furrowed as she considered his question carefully. What had she been doing there? And not just that; why did she appear so close to Bakugou, the one person who pushed almost everyone away? Shrugging her shoulders, she slung the case over her shoulder in a casual manner. "Mostly by chance. I went into the tree grove to think and ran into him." She fell silent for a moment, considering just how much to share. "He's… not a bad person. He just goes about things differently than others. You of all people should know."

He jumped, caught off guard by her response and her callout. Golden eyes were settled on him in a serious manner, making him swallow hard. He had forgotten just how intimidating Rei could be sometimes, how serious and deadly she could appear with just a look, a bit of cold detachment making her aloof although making her seem a notch above everyone else mentally. She almost seemed to be accusing him of something, and Midoriya looked down in shame. They had fought. Rei knew it. From how she had delivered her answer, she seemed to know almost everything. But her eyes softened just a bit on him, as she continued. "Give him time. He'll learn how to open up. Do you believe in him?"

At this Midoriya looked up again, green eyes wide. "Of course."

He received a small, warm smile. "Then that's all you need."

He believed her. Standing in the hallway, the afternoon light filtering down gently between them, he felt reassured for the first time in a while. How did she know? But before he could gather himself together and muster a response she had turned away from him, tossing a small wave over her shoulder before striding down the hallway in a confident manner.

It was time to move on. From what she had gathered, Recovery Girl and Bakugou were still back at the observation center, in the temporary clinic that she had set up in order to be more centrally located. She made sure to grab his shoes from his shoe locker before starting off toward her final destination. It was a short walk, even shorter now that Rei could move briskly at her own pace, marching quickly and purposefully through the campus. After a few minutes she finally crossed the expansive parking lot, still completely empty as it had been not a few hours prior. Padding quietly through the hallways, she finally came to the nurse's office, knocking on the door gently before cautiously sliding the door open.

Shuzenji stood over Bakugou's head, hovering over her patient with a thoughtful look on her face. She turned at Rei's entrance, watching the young girl sheepishly skulk through the room and slowly make her way to her classmate's cot. Setting his gear down, she whispered quietly to Recovery Girl. "I came to drop off his belongings, so he didn't have to walk far."

"How thoughtful." The school nurse looked back down to her patient, a strained look on her face. "He probably won't be up for a while longer. You should go home and rest from your exam."

Disappointment flooded her chest. Rei wanted to do something more, to wait for him to wake up, to be there for him. But was that really her place? What even were they? And above all else, Recovery Girl had the final say of who got to stay in her office. Rei was certain that the disappointment was clear on her face, but she didn't try hard to hide it. "Right."

"Before you go," Recovery Girl stared, turning toward the young girl, "how is your hand?"

"My hand?" Realization struck Rei as she lifted her right hand up to look at it briefly before turning her palm so that the nurse could take a closer look. Shuzenji turned her hand around, poking and prodding it before nodding solemnly.

"I hope you're up to date on your vaccinations. Even with your accelerated healing, disease isn't pretty to be fighting off at the same time as physically healing wounds."

"R-right." Rei stuttered at the strange twist of events, but it was the truth. At least she was smart enough to continue her vaccinations; she wasn't that stupid to think that she could wing it on her own. Some things were better left to science than her own good luck. Taking the elder woman's nod of her head as a sign that she was able to leave, Rei bowed at the waist, although slightly haltingly. "Thank you. I'll take my leave."

"Good work today. Rest up tonight." Shuzenji turned toward her desk, plopping down in the chair and shuffling through a stack of papers. Rei took the moment to briefly take a step closer to Bakugou to take a closer look. He looked completely at peace, brows unfurrowed for what seemed like the first time Rei could recall. Fast asleep, he looked innocent, a trait she never would have ascribed to him. He was in good hands, and with that thought she finally turned around to leave. Her work there was done. It was time to go home.

It was the first time she had gone back home to Reina's house alone. Standing on the train and holding onto a rail guard, seeing as how she was too short to grab onto the fixtures from the ceiling, Rei felt as though something was missing, or rather someone. It was lonely, even if they never filled their time with conversation. Simply missing his presence was enough to fill Rei's chest with a sense of longing, a sort of anxiety at traveling alone taking its place. She scowled openly at the thought. She was an independent woman; she didn't need Bakugou to babysit her. But it was the routine, the normalcy of traveling together both to and from home that made her comfortable, made her happy.

Pulling out her phone, she sent a quick message to Reina, alerting her to her impending arrival, however later than expected. After hesitating for a moment she sent another to Bakugou, knowing that he would see it later. It was all that she could do for now; wait for an answer.

_**Akatsuki (5:30 PM)  
**__Text me when you're awake_

* * *

So much had happened that afternoon that Rei had forgotten that Chirasaki mentioned something about being at Reina's house after the test. He ended up staying for dinner, a vocal affair now that Reina had someone's ear to chatter off with. It wasn't as though Hotaru and Rei didn't provide any conversation, but although Chirasaki was much more laid back than his family friend he was quite talkative when he wanted to be. They had talked about everything, from Reina's work integrating more with her parents, Chirasaki's agency, Hotaru's mentoring job, and Rei's final exam. Even as Rei picked apart her own flaws during the practical, she couldn't help but feel satisfied at her victory, especially with her opponent giving her tips to improve and complimenting her on outsmarting him on the field.

It was a satisfying day. There was just one last thing that weighed on Rei's mind.

Throughout the dinner she had been itching to check her phone, to see if Bakugou had replied. She had been checking it constantly up until their meal, stowing it away as usual so that all of them could have a distraction free conversation. But as the talk dragged on she found herself getting slightly more twitchy, although she tried to hide it as best as possible. Still, she was overcome with relief after they had cleaned up the dishes and Chirasaki said his goodbyes, mentioning that he had to make it back to the agency that evening to take care of some paperwork and planning. After bidding a quick goodnight to her guardians she skulked off through the house, plucking her phone off the living room table before picking up her bag where she had left it in the entryway. Darting up the stairs she flipped her phone screen open, disappointed when there were still no messages shown.

Was he ignoring her? No, she was overthinking things. He would respond on his own time, and she couldn't make him respond any faster than that. Back in her room, Rei found herself standing in the middle of the wide space, hands on her hips as she looked around aimlessly. There was no more studying to do, no catching up to be done. For the first time in months she was truly and honestly free. Even though they still had class the next day, there really wasn't anything she could do to prepare for; most likely they would be receiving instructions about the camping trip and going over grades.

Freedom. But she attended U.A.; if there was time to relax, then there was time to improve. There was no such thing as letting her guard down, although from what she garnered about Ashido and Kaminari's approach to school, there seemed to be different levels of interpretation of the school's motto of "Plus Ultra." Rei wanted to improve, to get better. She had been lucky that Chirasaki had been weighed down by those limiters. In the real world, villains didn't have those. Rei would be hard pressed to keep up. Training it was.

She was fortunate that she hadn't been severely injured in her fight. Her muscles certainly needed to be stretched out properly, since she had done a lot of running in intervals at intense rates, so perhaps a light workout session was called for this evening. Changing into a loose black tank top and black leggings, she made her way up onto the roof once again, crawling out of the window and pulling herself up over the ledge. Feet padding quietly over the lukewarm tiles, she noted that there was still light in the sky; the sun had set, but summer's twilight was upon them. At least it wasn't freezing, allowing her to spend a little less time on warming up before running a familiar race around the rooftops in the area.

Running through the cool night air, Rei pushed herself harder than she had ever gone. Today's exam provided the motivation; even if she was exhausted, she wanted to go harder than ever. By the time she was coming in for the final block she was breathing hard, letting everything go as she sprinted back to her house. She focused on jumping over the roofs, soaring through the sky almost effortlessly, the moon a sliver in the sky as her eyes took in the route ahead of her. As Bakugou's house appeared golden eyes narrowed into slits, this time fully prepared for what was ahead. Pushing herself to her absolute limit she landed on the roof, took two bounding leaps, and threw her body through the air in a high arc, clearing the wide gap and making it all the way back to her house. She landed on the tiles on all fours, finally coming to a halt as she breathed heavily, inhaling deeply in an effort to slow her breathing down. Eventually she stood up, pacing in circles on the roof as she cooled down, stretching out her arms and legs in a languid fashion. She probably hadn't been as fast as if she had been fresh or less exhausted from the practical, but her run had been satisfactory.

The sound of a sliding glass door opening made Rei's ears perk up, head turning in expectation. She had managed to forget everything during her workout, only now remembering her concern for Bakugou. Gold eyes turned toward a familiar balcony, with an even more familiar figure stepping out on the deck and looking at Rei with an upturned and expectant face. Heart fluttering and stammering in her chest, she immediately jumped back to her neighbor's house, this time landing precisely on the ledge of the balcony, startling Bakugou at her sudden appearance and precision. She blinked, then slowly relaxed from her crouch and dangled her legs over the edge, sitting on the railing and facing her companion. Surveying his face carefully, she found that he had mostly returned to normal, a small scowl sitting on his lips naturally.

"How… are you?"

Rei hadn't been sure what exactly to ask, nor what to expect. A part of her had predicted anger at the outcome of events, not necessarily because he had won, but because of how badly he had been thrashed around. Even with multiple limiters, All Might had still proved to be a formidable foe. But he only scoffed, tossing his head to the side and shoving his hands in his pockets. He had changed out of their school uniform, now dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a logo t-shirt for some brand Rei didn't recognize. Taking it as a sign that he was good enough, she offered her hands to him in tradition.

This time, he knew what was coming. Bakugou was slow to place his arm in her hands, instinctively tensing. They both knew that this was going to be rather painful compared to the other times, except perhaps when he had overexerted during the sports festival. Taking these factors into consideration, Rei was much more delicate with her prodding, brows furrowing as she felt for the damage in his forearms. It was bad. Bad enough that, instead of pressing down and jabbing her fingers into the muscles to massage them out, she instead lightly pressed on them in a gentle, soothing motion.

Rei sighed. "I don't want to press too hard tonight. It's too tender. After they calcify tonight, I'll tackle them more tomorrow." Still she delicately massaged them out, unwilling to let go quite yet. Neither did he remove his hands from her grasp, red eyes focusing on her hands as they moved around him.

It was familiar. Routine. Something that kept her grounded. That familiar feeling that she had when the two of them had stood in front of the empty orphanage came back, a stirring of emotions that made her want to tip over the edge both figuratively and literally. For all the desire that burbled in her chest she had to keep things the way that they were, even as there was a piece of her that wanted to go beyond, to fall completely. It was there, unspoken between them, the feelings that they had. Neither seemed to want to push completely. But it was something that Rei couldn't keep away any longer.

"This weekend," she began, a plan forming in her head, "are you free? I'm thinking of going back to Mamaru's cafe in Kumo City, along with a couple other errands."

He seemed surprised at the invite, but he simply shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever. I'm not doing anything."

That had been easy. Rei grinned widely, taking his words as as much of an affirmation as he could possibly give. "Then, I'll be ready around eleven. Is that fine?"

"Fine by me. Just don't stay out too long with whatever errands you're planning on."

"Right." Finishing with her massage, she moved her hands away, pulling back slowly as she released his hand. To her surprise he held fast onto her, making her stiffen. She blinked, slowly looking up into his face to see what he wanted. "Bakugou?"

The boy only frowned. "Today… I lost."

Ah, so he was thinking back to his exam. Rei was tempted to quip back that he had actually passed the exam, opening her mouth mindlessly before a new thought came to her mind. She shut her mouth instead, mulling over the ideas that tumbled through her head. He had been unable to beat All Might. He had passed out, forced to rely on Midoriya. Rei understood his feeling of defeat, and for a moment felt unable to help him. Instead she stood there silently, looking down at his hands as they held tightly onto her own.

Then it struck her. He was waiting for her to say something. She, who always seemed to have a plan or something to say, no matter if it was serious or a witty quip. At least she could read the situation; nothing witty would make him feel better, but neither would niceties and general pats on the shoulder to try and stimulate a general good feeling of hopefulness. That had never been her style anyway. Instead she closed her eyes, pulling her thoughts together before she felt prepared.

"Midoriya wanted to run, didn't he." It was less of a question and more of a statement. Bakugou's face turned dark at the mention of his current rival, but Rei twisted her hands inside of his, squeezing his fingertips reassuringly. "But even he wouldn't be able to outrun All Might, even with the restraints. I don't know how it happened, but you two were able to work together. I think that's a victory in itself."

He scoffed, anger beginning to rise. "The fuck are you trying to say-"

"Don't get me wrong," she interrupted, "I'm not saying that you need to keep working with him. But you two have been at odds since day one. Don't you think that you and he were paired for a reason in this exam? You weren't in the room, but Recovery Girl confirmed to me that these tests were set up in order to target each student's weakness and set them up against a near impossible wall."

Stiffening, his eyes turned on her coldly. Rei shivered as he stared down impassively, but she refused to back down. She pressed on. "Out of everyone in our class, you're the top when it comes to sheer physicality and planning combined. They planned it so that you would be held back. Think about it; what if we had been paired together?"

"You crazy? Did you see All Might-"

"Bakugou." He shut his mouth, much to her surprise and gratitude. He knew that she was on a roll, making her way to her point. "I would have followed you in without hesitation. With minor adjustments," she amended with a tilt of her head, "but you wouldn't have had to waste time trying to fight with Midoriya, who was clearly against your plan. Do you get it yet?"

He snorted, a sure sign that he was still annoyed at the mentioning of Midoriya, but he otherwise quieted down and bit into what she had given him. It was a bitter pill, but Rei wasn't about to cut corners or try to appease his stormy attitude. Squeezing his hands together inside her own, she lifted them up closer to her chest as she hugged them. "You don't have to like it," she said quietly, voice almost a murmur, "But you won. So just keep winning."

Lowering their hands down she finally release them, watching as they slowly fell back to his sides while hers moved to stabilize her on the railing. She could see the gears turning in his head, digesting everything she had said bit by bit, red eyes clouded over as they stared blankly for a few moments more. Then, with sudden clarity, he looked back into her eyes, locking with gold.

"What happened with your fight?"

Rei inhaled deep, slowly exhaling as her mind turned over the day's events. "Tomorrow," she eventually decided. "I'll tell you on the way to school. I think we both need to rest up. Give you something to look forward to." She was tired, and she didn't want to get into all the tiny details just then. It was a story for another day.

Lifting herself up and swinging her legs underneath her, she smiled briefly before preparing to jump back to her roof. She had almost missed it, his voice so low she was certain later that he hadn't meant for her to hear anything. But she had almost felt his baritone voice, chest rumbling from the low mutter he said under his breath. "I always look forward to it."

Taking off with her heart fluttering in her chest, she refused to look at him until she was back inside her room, finally looking over across the way and giving a small wave in parting. This time instead of simply nodding he mirrored her gesture, raising a hand before turning away and locking himself in his room once more. As he vanished from her sight Rei closed her window, sealing herself inside.

Her heart beat wildly, and it wasn't from her workout. There was no denying it. She had fallen hard for the boy next door. Somehow she had spiraled to this point; he had started out as the other attitude problem in the class, then somehow had revealed his softer side to only her. She had seen what he could truly be like underneath, and had appreciated how vulnerable he sometimes was around her in private. She had grown fond of that spiky mess of ash blonde hair, those cherry red eyes that brightly shone and glared indiscriminately. It was now that she realized just how bad she had fallen. With a groan she wiped her hand over her face, rolling her eyes at herself in disgust at all her squishy, gushy emotions. Gross. But at the same time, it was wonderful, knowing that her heart would race and her day would brighten when she got to spend time with him, no matter where or when.

The first term was essentially at a close. She had learned much, both academically and about herself. But the journey had just begun.

* * *

AN: Sorry I was unable to chunk out that bonus chapter. The ending just... isn't quite working for me. It's slightly... sexy at the end? Which I have mixed feelings about (there's nothing wrong with being sexy, and also in this au i'm writing they're like... 23 years old?). I might post it in the next week if I finally bring myself to finishing it lol.

Updating a day early today! I know I've been doing Sunday updates, but today I'm trying a Saturday update. I'd like to do Saturdays since it's closer to the beginning of the weekend (and hopefully y'all that live in different timezones will have more time to enjoy the weekend and read), but my schedules are kind of terrible right now for Friday/ Saturday since I have class (yes... class through the entire summer). We'll see how it goes! I actually uploaded this Friday night so I could just hit the "post" button this morning. Please enjoy!

Story/ Author Update. Still on chapter 31. Mostly because it's a very significant and emotionally charged chapter. After that, I'm actually very excited to write the following chapters, but getting to that point is definitely difficult. I'm also stuck on one of the camp chapters (just filling with more minor details), but hopefully that'll get worked out in the next couple weeks before it launches. Nothing like some good pressure to make me write faster... Everything through Chapter 25 has had at least one proofreading session, and Chapters 26 through 30 are for the most part completed or at least have the barebones completed and are missing some minor details. We're getting there folks! Still can't believe that we're over 200k+ words on this story now... that's ridiculous to me.

**Review Thanks Time!**

**RandomThingz123**: Aaaahhhh thank you! I'm glad you love their relationship, and I hope that I'm doing a good job with keeping it sort of realistic and slow paced for now!

**dragontamer64**: Oh shoot seriously? Now that I think about it, I might know what story you're referencing. That's my bad. I thought I was being creative, but I guess I wasn't that creative. Dang it! Oh well. Imitation is the best form of flattery, so when I figure out what story it is I'll probably send them a message to let them know. But also good to know about the jealousy! It won't be happening for a while (can you believe that I'm already thinking about chapters in the 40s range?), but I'm considering another... interest. Lol. But not in a serious way. More for Bakugou to be a drama queen. Hope this chapter lived up to the hype!

**CocoaFirefly**: Ahh thank you for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying this story and still keeping up with it! Thank you so much!

**ILikeFoxes828**: Hahaha I'm glad I can brighten your day with a chapter! Hopefully this brightens your day again! I've decided that I'm going to try and update on Sunday mornings, although it's bound to change. Have a great week!

**yaoi4adollar**: Here it is! I hope you've liked what I've done for the exam, and I hope that it was unexpected. I do love writing unexpected things, although writing predictable events can have its place as well.

**NotRob**: Good point... though it might not be intentional from Rei... :D But if there is a jealous bit, it won't be for a while. I still have a lot of set up and relationship building to do before we get there (I know, most people would have already hucked the relationship into the story by this point, but it's like that John Mulaney bit, "No, no, hold back, save it..."). Thanks for the review!

**Quatre24**: Thank you for the two reviews! I'm glad you enjoyed that special episode chapter; it was honestly pretty easy but dense to write, since I literally sat down for two days straight and chunked it out with some editing as well. And I'm honored that you enjoy the portrayal of orphans. It was a topic I came across during my studies in undergraduate, and it was actually one of the springboards I used. I still have a lot of researching to do, but I'm glad you appreciated it!

**Anseo**: Oh, man, I hope it wasn't too disappointing to see that neither Midoriya nor Bakugou were really in the final exams for this! But having the class start teasing Bakugou at a later date is a good idea, and I'm going to note that down because you're absolutely right, that would be ridiculously funny. I'm glad you think their chemistry is good as well! That means a lot to me!

**SamMayDay89**: Wow wow wow that makes me so happy to hear that you've binged this story, because I know that feel all too well. Thanks so much for reading! I hope that I continue to deliver, and you enjoy the upcoming chapters as well.

**Happy summer everyone! **

**Thank you for the reviews again!**

**Please review if you have a spare moment. I really appreciate them, and I try to respond to everyone.**

**Remember to be kind to others, and to stay hydrated in this heat. **


	23. Saving the World with Love

Chapter 23

Saving the World with Love

* * *

"Hey, since we're off tomorrow and we just finished with our exams, why doesn't Class 1-A go shopping all together?"

Hagakure's outburst seemed to be gaining quite a bit of traction, as everyone began talking about their plans for the camping trip and all the things they needed to buy. Yaoyorozu looked particularly excited, turning in her seat to Rei. "Tsuki-chan, this is a wonderful idea! Will you be coming with us?"

Blinking three times quickly, Rei slowly shook her head. "Ah, sorry. I made plans already."

Unfortunately others in the class began pouncing on her, Kaminari and Ochaco in particular rounding on the girl in the back corner in a sudden manner, apparently lingering not far out of earshot and catching Rei's statement. Rei stiffened in her seat as multiple heads suddenly leaned into her personal space, multiple sets of eyes leering at her as they bugged out in their heads. "Whaat?! Akatsuki-san, why not?"

"Like I said, I made plans. Sorry. They're… important to me." She tried not to look at Bakugou, who was already walking across the front of the room. They had fallen into a sort of rhythm at this point that no one else had noticed yet, except for Yaoyorozu who was constantly in the loop. Bakugou was usually the first to leave the classroom, Rei leaving soon after to catch up with him so that they could walk to the station together and go home. No one else knew, and hopefully things would stay that way. It was a time where both of them could relax slightly from being surrounded by their classmates during the day, the first moment where their walls could come down even slightly.

"Oi, Bakugou! You're coming too!"

"Like I'd do something so irritating."

Rei couldn't help but smirking a little at Bakugou's typical response, lowering her head and disguising it as part of her movement to get out of her seat, grabbing her backpack and standing up. "Sorry," she gave her excuses to a watery eyed Kaminari and disappointed looking Ochaco, "maybe another time."

"Yeah, you better believe that we're gonna hold you to that!"

Her lips twitched. Would they really? Half of her doubted that they would even remember one week from now, especially where Kaminari was concerned, but the other half also wouldn't be surprised if they pulled it out a few months down the road when she had forgotten herself. Waving goodbye to Yaoyorozu, Rei walked purposefully out of the classroom, face schooled into a neutral expression all the way until she made it to the front of the school. She appeared at the same moment as Bakugou, her new tennis shoes easily sliding onto her feet and taking less time than Bakugou. Upon seeing her the boy nodding in greeting before the duo set off in unison.

Even as she heaved a sigh, Rei couldn't help but smile a bit at the rest of the class's planned excursion. "A class shopping trip, huh?"

He clicked his tongue, obviously annoyed by the idea of being forced to socialize with their classmates outside of academics. "What a bother."

"Don't you have to shop for things for training camp too?"

Red eyes turned toward her, filled with a small edge of curiosity. "Thought we were running errands tomorrow."

We. Internally, Rei was tickled at the notion. She smiled reactively, shooting back playfully. "Thought you didn't want to be weighed down by my errands."

"Smartass."

Lifting a hand to her mouth, she chuckled, watching as red eyes rolled in their sockets. To be fair, Rei hadn't exactly been planning on shopping for the trip, instead thinking about picking up small gifts for Hotaru and Reina since she was back in Kumo City. She wanted to visit a small tea shop and pick up some more Earl Gray, a specialty that Hotaru was particularly fond of. She had also decided to pick up some for Yaoyorozu, although that decision had come with much debate. From what she remembered in class, the girl and her family clearly had expensive tastes, the teas she had listed off coming from brands Rei had never even heard of before. But it was the thoughtfulness that counted, since Rei didn't have that kind of money. Momo wasn't snotty enough to turn down anything from her friend anyway. Besides, Rei had never done anything in thanks for Momo making her a new bag, and that had been at the beginning of the term.

But after Aizawa-sensei had announced that everyone was going on the training camp trip, he had passed an envelope to Rei as subtly as possible, casually and quietly mentioning that her application had gone through and had been approved. For a moment Rei sat in confusion, watching as her teacher left the classroom after the morning homeroom and wondering what application she had forgotten about. After opening it quietly she was shocked to find that she had been approved for the student fund, the application she had sent in literally a month prior in order to ascertain money for the camping trip. That had been the day that Rei had been told the orphanage was closing, before Reina had decided to take her in. Things were different now, but the relief Rei felt had been just as genuine; she didn't like the idea of taking money from Reina for herself, even if she needed the supplies. Flipping through the training camp guide in class, she had been blown away by the sheer amount of gear they needed, a second wave of thankfulness washing over her for Aizawa's mention of the financial aid scholarship. It would certainly buy her what she needed without making a dent in her personal funding, giving her a personal cushion.

Truth be told, she hadn't thought of shopping during the next day, her day to spend with Bakugou in Kumo City. But now that he mentioned it, she was certain that there were a few shops they could go into, at least for shoes and some other basics. There was a sizable mall in the prefecture, but nothing like some of the other ones. It would have to do for their day trip. Besides, they didn't need to buy everything in one fell swoop. They had a few more weeks until the trip came around anyway.

Rei smilled. "Alright. We can stop by the mall in the prefecture for a couple things after."

"After?"

The smile grew tight on her lips, a bit more forced as Rei's mind wandered to the reason for her trip the next day. "There's something I need to do first when we get there." Thankfully he didn't question her crypticness, only grunting in assent while staring forward at their path. They were approaching the station, the crowds growing as they got closer. Rei had to raise her voice slightly to combat all the noise as they boarded the train, squeezing on in and finding a spot to stand. "How are your arms doing today?"

"Sore as hell," he put it bluntly. "Can't pick up my damn pencil."

"Good. Then I can start massaging it out later."

But instead Bakugou thrust his arm out in front of her, using his other arm to hold on to the grips hanging from the ceiling. Rei blinked at the suddenness, looking between the hand extended in front of her and his face, then narrowing her eyes at him in suspicion. "Do you want me to fall over on the train?"

"Idiot. Just hold on to my hand if anything happens."

She couldn't help the cheeky grin that came on her face. "Are you just trying to get me to hold your hand?"

Her comment had disarmed him, making him flustered as he stuttered for a moment. "What-fuck, what? Just help me out, damn it!"

Grinning widely, Rei ducked her head as she took his arm into her hands, bracing herself as the train doors closed and the tram began to accelerate. She wasn't actually worried for the most part, since she was more than capable of standing upright; if anything she had simply been giving him a hard time. It was too easy to tease him when he wasn't expecting it coming, a certain difference from his stoic confidence that he wore all too easily during the day when he was caught off guard. As the train began to get underway she gently began massaging his arms out, the two of them huddle close together in the traffic. She could feel the tension, though she kept her motions less harsh than usual, the muscles still healing and she didn't want to bruise them or damage them further.

The trip passed in relative silence, the two of them momentarily lost in their own secluded worlds. It was after a particularly traffic laden stop that someone accidentally rammed their bag into Rei as they exited the train, knocking her off balance as she began to fall over. The hand that she had been working on gripped her tightly, Bakugou's other hand grabbing her upper arm to steady her as he sent a piercing glare at the offending individual. They didn't notice, so absorbed in leaving and with their back turned to the two, but Rei knew that the look Bakugou had sent them would have had them stuttering out an apology by anyone lesser in confidence. But instead she caught her breath, watching the traffic change in and out before turning to look at her savior. "Thanks." Her words came out more breathlessly than she would have liked, but Bakugou simply nodded, holding onto her for a moment longer before the train bell gently chimed, the doors sliding closed. He resumed his normal position, grabbing onto the grip hanging from the ceiling while loosening his grasp on her hands.

By the time they arrived at their destination Rei was finished with her work, reluctantly letting go of his hands and following him out into the station. Emerging in the hot afternoon light they began their trek through the streets back home. "So, tomorrow then?"

"Yeah."

"Don't make me wait."

He scoffed, hands digging into his pockets. "Who do you think I am?"

"Someone that enjoys sleeping in 'till noon."

Clicking his tongue, he tossed his head to the side, muttering a curse under his breath. Rei laughed freely, not bothering to hide her laugh this time. "I won't wake you up early tomorrow. Promise."

Her only response was an eyeroll, but she saw the corner of his lips twitch up for a split second, betraying his amusement. "Smartass," he muttered. "You better not."

"Bye." They had arrived at their houses, Rei waving goodbye as she walked past his house. She received a nod of a head as they parted ways, Bakugou disappearing into his front yard and entering his home.

Rei almost felt like skipping the remaining short distance to her house, but she restrained herself. Too giddy, and she would only draw more attention to herself and endure a plethora of questions from Reina. Instead she breathed in deep, composing herself as much as possible, though the smile never left her face.

It wasn't a date. Hell, neither of them had really confessed anything. But the feelings were there. Rei was over the moon to spend more time with him, feeling like she was impossible to tie down as her mind and heart floated up into the air. She would take every moment she could, day by day.

* * *

Summer vacation.

The shopping excursion Rei had taken with Bakugou had gone over rather well. Well, as well as it could go, with the two of them bickering left and right. It was all play, but there was something about using one's brain to try and get creative with all sorts of taunts and witty comebacks that was both energizing and draining. The two of them had ended up buying most of their gear that they needed for the upcoming camping trip, and had spent the day in relative ease, all with a trip to Mamaru's cafe at the end to tide them over. It was funny how much Bakugou had put up a fight about going all the way to Kumo City again for a cafe, but his face didn't lie when a chili pepper mocha was placed in front of him.

Needless to say, that earned him even more ridicule on Rei's part. All in good fun, of course. It was too easy to try and get him to explode.

Of course, it wasn't all one sided on Rei's part. Somehow - she still had absolutely no idea how - she had gotten guilt tripped, dragged, and kicked into taking the special cram hero course that U.A. was offering. When Bakugou realized that Rei hadn't signed up for the class, he had immediately whipped out his phone and forced her to fill out the slip electronically, much to both their chagrin.

Rei, because she was being forced into a class.

Bakugou, because Rei ended up changing all his ringtones and phone wallpapers by the time she handed his phone back.

It was karma, as she had said. At least she hadn't changed his password.

She still got an earful for that one.

But now her summer vacation was feeling a little less like summer vacation. Not like she really planned to do anything fun otherwise. Rei was pretty sure that Reina would be drilling her in schoolwork and advanced studies in every free moment, and the only excuse she would get to slip out of it was to physically train.

So Rei found herself waking up a couple days later and pulling on her school uniform, sitting down at the breakfast table and munching away on a quick breakfast with Reina and Hotaru before dashing off. At least the special class started a little later than normal school did, the only respite she received.

If only she could get a respite from Reina's morning exuberance.

Her mentor was particularly plucky this morning, looking as though she was about to burst with excitement, her cheeks puffed out. To Hotaru's credit, the other woman almost seemed to ignore this energy to the best of her ability, or at least she knew the source. Only Rei sat confused, raising an eyebrow at her mentor.

"Do I want to know?"

"That depends." Reina was almost bouncing in her chair, like an overexcited toddler. "Are you feeling spontaneous today?"

"Depends," Rei shot back, shoving a mouthful of cereal into her mouth and quickly chewing before swallowing. "Do I have a choice?"

"Nope!" Reina hesitated. "Well, you do. But I have a feeling you'll want to come."

"Come where?"

"How does a trip to I-Island sound for the I-Expo sound?"

Eyebrows shot up, Rei almost dropping her spoon as her grip faltered for a moment. "Excuse me?"

"That's a yes, right?"

"H-hold on…"

Hotaru sighed, iridescent eyes blinking blearily as she placed a hand on top of Reina's own, earning a look from her girlfriend. "Don't you have a business call to take soon?"

Reina shot up from her seat, talking to herself as she ran through the hallways in order to prepare herself. The two remaining girls stared after her for a moment before Hotaru sighed, taking a long draught of her coffee before returning to look at Rei, taking the wheels. "Reina's parents were invited, as per usual. They want to send Reina this year, since they're going to officially make an announcement in a couple days that she's taking over the company."

A frown covered Rei's face as she stirred her cereal before scooping up another bite, the spoon lingering in front of her mouth. "Shouldn't you be going?"

"I would, but I'm needed in my district. We have important staff meetings that I can't miss."

"I see."

"You'd be leaving tomorrow, I think."

Rei blinked.

Then she blinked again.

"Wait, what?!"

Eyes peering over the rim of her coffee mug, Hotaru grinned. "Consider it a 'spontaneous Reina special.'"

"More like Reina's special day to give me a heart attack." A pause. "I'll go. But I have to get to school right now."

"I'll start a bag for you. I'll let her know when she gets done with her conference call." She waved her hand at the young girl. "I'll take care of the dishes. You get out of here."

Rei called her thanks as she darted to the front door, realizing that it was getting close to time to leave. Throwing on her boots and slinging her bag over her back, she called out her farewells one more time before heading out the door and into the warm afternoon. Locking the door behind her, she stepped into the street.

It felt strange to be heading to school now. First and foremost, she hadn't been planning for this until a few days ago. It was only because a certain someone had dragged her into it, stating that she couldn't become a good hero if she sat back and watched the world fly by. Well, that and a few more rude things that had earned some rude responses, but that was neither here nor there. But it was also nearly nine o'clock in the morning, a time when Rei would already be sitting through English with Present Mic's rather enthusiastic lectures. It was too warm to be outside and running around, and she couldn't wait to get into the classroom where there was air conditioning.

Well, this was a special hero course technically. They would most likely be outside in their uniforms, but Rei didn't to think about that yet. She would take the day one task at a time.

And the first task after leaving her house, apparently, was greeting a familiar grumpy face.

Bakugou was already waiting for her outside the wall of his own house, slouching casually against the stone with his bag slung over his arm. Caramine eyes turned on Rei as soon as she came into view, lazily watching as she hastened her approach after seeing him waiting for her appearance.

"Morning."

She only received a nod and a grunt in return, earning a frown and an exasperated eye roll from her. "Oh, don't look so tired. You're the one that dragged me into this. I should be complaining."

"You're too talkative for the morning."

"It's nine. It could be worse."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

The only thing she received for her biting comment was a half hearted glare tossed lazily in her direction before he turned his head forward, starting off down the road. For a few minutes they walked in silence to the train station, Rei taking time to recenter herself. Summer vacation was already making her brain go mushy. She had to shake herself back into it.

"So," she started up again, "what do you think we'll do?"

"No idea. Hope we get to fight."

"Hmm." There was a possibility that they would be able to spar. The class was only open to six people, keeping the numbers down and potentially giving them more one on one time with the teachers. Even Rei couldn't deny that the thought of training directly with a teacher was an exciting one, a smile forming on her face as she thought of who she could be paired with. "Not a bad idea."

"'Course it isn't."

"Why, because you thought of it?"

"Duh. You're not the only one with bright ideas."

"Hmph. You're cockier this morning."

"And for some reason, you're more annoying."

"Good. Then I get to keep you in line."

An eye roll. "Whatever, idiot."

Even if this was a special class, at least some things were already becoming routine. It made Rei think about how strange things in her life had happened, how the pieces had already fallen together to sit where they now were. What had she done to be both so misfortunate and favored?

In the lazy morning, she sent a thankful prayer to whatever god could hear her. Perhaps her future wasn't turning out to be so bad after all.

* * *

"Alright, listen up."

It wasn't as though Class 1-A ever talked over Aizawa, but only having six people in the room really made a difference. Rei in particular felt as though she couldn't slump forward in her chair and lean toward the teacher like she usually did, forcing her to awkwardly sit up straight with her hands playing in her lap. She couldn't imagine how Todoroki felt, sitting completely exposed. At least Iida and Uraraka were sitting together, while Bakugou, Midoriya and she all shared the same row.

She didn't think that having fewer people in the class would really make a difference in the end, but having a direct line of sight to the teacher without at least four full rows of students sitting in front of her as a buffer really felt… strange.

"Just so you know," Aizawa looked to each of the students, staring them in the eye as he spoke. Rei shifted to sit a straighter as he looked at her in particular, holding her gaze for a moment longer before continuing, "This will be harder than a regular class. Prepare yourselves." Shuffling a stack of papers, their homeroom teacher began to read from a script. "In this class, you will fight and capture a hypothetical villain."

Rei saw Bakugou in particular sitting up a little straighter at the front of their row, head perking up. She ducked her head and hid her mouth behind her hand, compressing a snicker that threatened to come out. All the blonde boy needed were the words "fight" and "villain" in the same sentence to get them going. It wasn't sparring practice, but the activity sounded promising in its own way. Even Uraraka and Midoriya started cheering loudly until a single glare from Aizawa silenced them both, the classroom going deadly silent once again as they waited for him to continue.

"This should be obvious," he finally restarted after leveling those two students in particularly with an especially sharp look, as though daring them to interrupt him one more time, "but villains commit many different types of crimes. You will all go to the scene of the crime and determine what happened there, whether or not it was caused by the villain, whether or not you should fight, and train your abilities to assess and deal with the situation."

At this Rei deflated slightly. So there was a chance that they wouldn't even need to fight? Bakugou would be in a terrible mood afterward if that was the case, and she didn't want to walk all the way back home with a human bomb. Human bomb? Or maybe like one of those strings of firecrackers that they had on New Years…

"Anyway, your special instructors will be-"

The back door slammed open.

"I am here, coming through the back door!"

Rei nearly fell out of her chair, what with the sudden speed, appearance, and noise that had burst into the room next to her as All Might flexed his muscles at the back of the room. She was reminded of the first day of class when he had entered the front of the room in a similar fashion during Hero Basic Training, prancing to the front in costume and all. Frankly, she should have expected something similar to happen, what with how well she was getting to know All Might's ostentatious personality.

Scratch that. She would never get used to how suddenly the man could enter a room.

"It's not just All Might," Aizawa pulled everyone's attention to the front of the room, and Rei's eyes widened at the line up. "Cementoss, Midnight, and Present Mic will all participate as special instructors."

Strange. Even Rei hadn't expected such a high density of teachers. Why had so many of them come together, just for this class? Was that simply a testament to how hard this class would be, just like Aizawa had said? Was there a chance that they would be fighting the teachers like they had for the final exams?

"That's it for now. Everyone change into costume and meet at Ground Beta."

The teachers all began to file out as the students chimed in with a resounding "yes," no matter how strange it sounded with only six of them. Aizawa flicked the panel to access their uniforms before leaving, allowing them to pick up their briefcases before making their way to the locker rooms.

Uraraka and Rei quickly fell into step, the only girls in the special class. "Ne, how was your weekend, Tsuki-chan?"

Hiding the snort that she wanted to make, Rei only pulled her lips into a strained smile. Images of her bickering with Bakugou flashed before her mind. It had been just peachy, but she knew that answering Uraraka in such a sarcastic tone would only bring about more questions and more confusion. "Fine. Strange to not be in class."

"Yeah, I agree!" Uraraka flexed, puffing her cheeks out adorably. "I wasn't sure about having another class today when it's summer break, but seeing All Might all muscly like that really got me pumped up!"

"Mm." At least the gravity girl's energy was infectious. It was hard not to feel energized or at least a little more positive when in the girl's presence. "What did you do on your days off?"

"Me? Oh, mostly cleaning my apartment, running errands." She laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her neck. "I don't know if anyone told you, but I'm going to be going with Momo and Kyoya-san to the I-Expo for a few days. Her family had tickets, so all the girls got together after the shopping trip and played rock-paper-scissors to decide who went." Suddenly, she looked panicked. "Ah! We're so sorry! We tried to invite you, but you never responded! I'm sorry!"

Rei only blinked in surprise. They had invited - oh, was that why Momo had texted her the other day? She had been so engrossed in bantering with Bakugou for the entire day that she had missed the text message until she got home later that night. So that was what Momo had been talking about. Shaking her head, Rei smiled awkwardly. "It's fine. I'm going with my mentor anyway." A frown came over her face. "Apparently."

"Ehh? Really? We have to meet up then!"

The two had arrived in the locker room, quickly stripping down and pulling on their costumes. Rei was already dreading being outside in the head in a black jumpsuit, but she swallowed her complaints, instead focusing on her friend. "Sure. I don't know what my mentor and I will be doing, but I'll let you know."

"Okay! This is gonna be so fun!"

"Uraraka-san."

"Yes?"

"Class comes first."

"Oh! Right! Of course!"

* * *

They had wasted no time upon arriving at Ground Beta, Aizawa taking them through the maze of streets until they had planted themselves in an alleyway around the corner from where their simulation would take place. Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida were almost comically poking their heads around the corner, attempting to discretely gauge the situation while stacking their heads atop one another in a manner that looked utterly ridiculous from Rei's point of view. Bakugou, Todoroki, and she had hung back, with both Todoroki and Rei opting to cast a glance at a more normal angle from further back.

Rei raised an eyebrow at the scene in the street. _Cardboard cutouts…? _

"Right." Aizawa started, drawing the six's attention as he began to speak. "I'll tell you the situation at the crime scene. There has been a villain attack at a jewelry store. The employees and customers have been taken hostage and everyone is barricaded inside. The number of villains and hostages is unknown."

_A hostage situation_. Fist clenched at her side, Rei couldn't help but relish in the spark of competitiveness that was lit in her chest. Finally, a situation that was more up her alley. It was a rather dark thought to be thinking about the simulation, but she couldn't help but feel thankful for the change of pace versus their regular Hero Basic Training classes that mostly pitted the class against one another in tests of skill and strength.

"You all have been asked by the police as pro heroes to come and resolve the incident."

"Aizawa-sensei!"

This time, Rei couldn't help but roll her eyes instinctively. How did she know this was coming?

But to her surprise, Aizawa cut their class president off. "I will not be answering any more questions. Verify the situation yourselves and resolve the case."

"Yes, sir!"

"Then let the capture training begin."

With those final thoughts, Aizawa began to blend into the background watching as his six students began to collaborate and think. Rei hung at the back, watching as Iida and Midoriya in particular began to think.

"So, what do we do first?"

"We need to figure out how many villains and hostages there are."

"Rei, you go." The group turned to Bakugou, who had surprisingly spoken. Rei quirked an eyebrow up, a bit caught off guard that he was the first to make a decision and the first to call on her.

"Me?"

"If we all stream in, the villains'll notice. Can't you get across the street easiest without anyone seeing?"

Folding her arms over her chest, Rei considered his idea for a moment. "I could, but getting an angle would be hard." Golden eyes turned over to Uraraka, locking onto the gravity girl as an idea began forming in her head. "Uraraka would be best."

The gravity girl's eyes went adorably wide as she pointed a finger at her face, blinking owlishly in a manner that was almost eerily similar to Rei. "Me?"

Rei looked back to the building. "Technically it's all one big window. You'll have to place yourself perfectly on the way over. But if I go, I risk not getting a high enough vantage or getting blocked by the glare of the windows." Brows furrowing, she crossed her arms over her chest, raising a hand to her chin in thought. It would still be nearly impossible for Uraraka to approach the building unnoticed, no matter the angle, especially if the villain inside was watching. The trade offs in this case for either one of them going was almost even in risks and potential problems. Upon a second glance at the building, she saw a phone number printed at the front of the building, just visible above the cardboard cutouts of the police. In that case…

Lifting her head, Rei looked at the entire group. "But we can have a distraction to cover for you."

"R-right." Clenching a fist, Uraraka nodded solemnly. "I'll do it."

"Then, Todoroki-san should make the call," Midoriya supplied, clearly seeing where Rei was going and noticing the number at the front of the building as well. No one seemed to have any problems with giving that task to the most level headed and able to improvise on the spot out of all of them. The group began to rotate into position, Todoroki pulling out his phone from his pocket and beginning to punch in the number, waiting to hit dial until the others were ready.

After everyone was ready, he hit the call button, the line ringing a few times before the phone was picked up. His brows furrowed as he listened for a moment, pulling the phone away and covering the microphone to speak to the rest of the group. "It's All Might playing the villain."

As soon as he began to engage All Might in a conversation, Midoriya pushed Uraraka across the space, the group holding their breath as they watched her slowly traverse the space. Rei only exhaled when the girl managed to grab onto the ledge and press her body flat, keeping herself as covert as possible. Eyes flickering between watching and Todoroki, it seemed as though the distraction was working thus far.

Finally Uraraka turned around, flashing two numbers on her hands. _One villain, three hostages_. As the group began whispering about what to do, Rei chanced a glance over to Bakugou, who was clearly stewing. Tapping his finger on his cheek, she could see the grimace growing bigger and bigger by the second, clearly unaccustomed to waiting for this long. Aizawa had baited his attention with a fight; it was clearly that he was irritated at being held out on for so long.

"Should we go around the back of the store?"

While Rei was surprisingly in favor of the idea that Iida had suggested (for what seemed like the first time that year), it was only time until Bakugou exploded.

And that moment was now.

Everyone jumped as Bakugou yelled out in frustration, standing up straight and flexing his arms. "This is stupid!"

"Kacchan-"

"Bakugou, don't tell me-"

"You're planning on charging straight in?"

Rei rolled her eyes. "And here we go."

She could see the look in his eye. It was the look that said that he had made up his mind, had made a decision that was unswayable. Of course, there was a chance that Rei could slap him out of it, but frankly she was itching to get on the move. The All Might Villain was standing at the window, and if they could capitalize on that…

"While I'm firing off explosions at that damn villain, rescue the hostages or something!"

"No way, are you thinking serious about that?"

"Stupid! Now's our chance, now that he's next to the window!"

Without leaving anyone a chance to counter him, Bakugou leapt into the air with a shout, leaving the rest of the team to follow in his footsteps. Rei winced at the sound as his explosions shattered the front of the store, and she briefly wondered if they would lose points if the hostages were affected by the blast or the smoke. Hopefully he had enough restraint, or at least had the desire to restrain himself enough for the sake of the hostages. He was smart enough on his own, but if he made them lose points then she would personally strangle him later.

Fortunately the wind was on their side, a breeze stirring the smoke enough to clear it out of the way and thin it a little faster than usual. But all that was revealed was a grueling scene, one that no one had been expecting in a hundred years.

On the floor, in a pool of blood, lay the villain.

Of course, it was assumed to be his own blood, given that there was a massive blood stain on his chest and a stain of blood under his body. But with Rei's heightened smell, she could tell that this was water and red food dye mixed with a bit of cornstarch to thicken the consistency just a touch. The other fact was that the teachers probably wouldn't actually stab themselves in reality just to liven things up. But for the sake of the exercise, the scene was set up well. The murder weapon was lying just shy of the villain's fingertips.

Rei was the first to move forward, only hesitating for a moment as she took in the entire scene. Looking behind her, she nodded her head at her teammates. "Check on the hostages and make sure that they're uninjured and safe. Their well being comes first right now."

The boys in particular looked startled that Rei had been the first to move, but Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki all spread across the jewelry store and went to the civilians. Bakugou simply watched as Rei walked forward, crouching down next to All Might's head and surveying the scene.

The helmet was off. Strange, but noted. With two fingers she pressed against his neck delicately for a pulse, taking it in before moving around toward the murder weapon, inspecting it closely. Sure enough it was stained with blood as well, a nice touch to the serrated knife as it gleamed on the floor. As soon as the rest of the team made it back, rounding up the civilians in one area, Rei stood back up, although her eyes didn't leave All Might's face, eyes closed peacefully.

"He has a pulse. Realistically, based on where he stabbed himself, he would be on his last legs right now or dead. Paramedics would be on the scene in a few minutes, but there's little chance they would be able to save him, based on where the police were and how long this might have been going on." Lifting her head, she looked to her classmates. "Does anyone have any rope?"

"Rope?"

Midoriya looked frightened at the idea, stammering out to the best of his ability. At least he seemed to understand where she was going with this. "T-tsuki-chan, isn't that unnecessary? If the villain is dead…"

"Someone might have a quirk that allows them to fake it." _Or that allows them to escape death and somehow come back to life after a minute or two. Like me._ "Doesn't matter if it's a corpse. We need to take precautions."

Todoroki was the one who moved forward, helping Rei flip the body over and restrain his arms against his back. Iida and Midoriya frankly looked sick, and as Uraraka jumped down from the roof she looked rather startled as well.

"Did Bakugou's blast kill him?"

"It wasn't that strong! Anyway, weren't you supposed to be watching from up there?"

"I couldn't see anything because of the smoke from the explosion." Rei had to commend Uraraka for standing up to Bakugou, a marked difference from the beginning of the term. Come to think of it, almost everyone seemed to be getting over Bakugou's rough manner of talking, or rather yelling at everyone, simply taking it in stride at this point. Even Midoriya, who could barely stammer out a phrase against his rival and childhood friend seemed to be at least coherent at this point. Tossing his head to the side, Bakugou scoffed, unwilling to take the blame.

It was Todoroki who spoke up again. "The murder weapon is there," he tilted his chin in the direction of the knife that was near their feet. "It's this knife covered in blood."

"Well, the scene of the crime was surrounded by police," Iida began, trying to piece the story together. "If we assume that no one went out or in in that time, then whoever killed the villain was among the hostages."

Rei had to admit that the teachers' acting was rather well done, as they all managed to look horrified at Iida's accusation. But while philosophically and in isolation, Iida's statement made logical sense, Rei knew that it wasn't the case.

However, Midoriya beat her to the punch. "Wait, Iida. It's too soon to decide that. Let's listen to what the hostages have to say."

Thankfully at this point, the hostages had been rounded up. As each one began their story, Rei continued to linger over the body of All Mi-the villain. Midoriya's concern over the ethics of tying up a dead man had struck a chord with her, something that she hadn't really thought of. So engrossed in following the darker logic within her, she had completely skipped over what was morally considered right. She hoped that her classmates didn't hold it against her at the end of the day, although half of her was still convinced that she was right and didn't need to apologize for everything.

At the end of the day, she knew some things that her classmates didn't. And that was what gave her the ability to act, even though others considered it dirty or strange.

Much to everyone's growing frustration (and to Rei's impression), the narratives that everyone had given all lined up, without any contradictions. Todoroki had even tested them, asking careful questions to each individual in order to supplement their testaments, to no avail to try and get them to trip up. Even when Midoriya asked to see the wallets of the civilians, their money supplies backed up their stories.

As Iida was once again fond of saying, "As expected of U.A.!" Only this time, it was really the teachers that she was impressed with and their degree of planning and attention to detail. She remembered how in elementary school their teacher had tried to get all of them to do a class play, and while most people were into it, it was impossible to get everyone on the same page.

Well, perhaps that was a little bit of an unfair analogy. Small children were walking, talking germs that cried over the smallest things and could barely remember what they ate for breakfast that morning. But to see that the teachers were truly putting their all into this scenario, on a meta level, was quite impressive to Rei.

It was only time before Bakugou exploded with impatience again. Now it was two fold, both over his anger that he had been cheated of a fight and that the scenario was continuing to drag on and on. "Whatever! The villain was killed, and the culprit was one of them!"

"And the motive?"

"Huh?! It's the stolen jewelry, duh!"

Still lingering over the villain's body, Rei looked back up from where she had been watching his breath. It was clear that All Might was trying to keep his breathing even and undetectable, but Rei wasn't about to miss any of those signs. "Bakugou." She leveled him with a glare, sparks flying between the two as they clashed before she slowly dragged her eyes over to the rest of them. "Wait." Turning to the civilians she crossed her arms over her chest. "Would you please be able to state your quirks and give a brief description of your abilities?"

"My quirk allows me to control cement and manipulate its form."

"My quirk allows me to make my opponents fall sleep if they breathe in my perfume."

"Yo! My quirk is like so, giving me rhymes and beats, yo! Hear me in your ears, airwaves everywhere! You know?"

Rei's eyes narrowed. So they were sticking to the quirks they had as teachers. It made sense, in order to have less components to the story to juggle. But with that came the fact that…

"Tsuki-chan?"

Rei looked to Midoriya and the rest of the group, who were looking at her in confusion. Only Todoroki this time seemed to have an idea of where she was going with her interrogation, eyes lighting up. She had just opened her mouth to speak when Iida returned from the back room. "I've checked every corner of the store, but there's no back exit and the windows are closed."

Snorting, she rolled her eyes. "Good. At least we have confirmation that our first plan would have been busted anyway. That saved us time."

"You tryna start somethin', idiot?"

"Akatsuki." The half hot, half cold boy pulled everyone's attention back, his eyes turned onto the girl who continued to stand over the villain, refusing to move from her position. "What were you going to say?"

"You're accusing the civilians of murdering the villain. How could they do that when they were bound, in separate corners, and their quirks are unable to either stab him or get him to stab himself?"

Everyone seemed startled at the statement. It was so easy, so clear to Rei, and now that it was thrown out there it seemed so obvious and straightforward. Of course the civilians were tied up; the only way that they would be able to kill them was if they had a quirk that was able to do so. But given that their quirks were known…

Rei sighed. "Which leaves one last person. It was suicide. Although, we won't really know, since the villain was wearing gloves so he wouldn't leave any DNA evidence on the murder weapon.

"But why would the villain barricade himself inside the store?"

For all their wandering and clue collecting, it always seemed like no matter what they did, they always circled back to square one. Motive. Wasn't it true that the police had asked them to come in and diffuse the situation, as per what Aizawa had stated? Now that they had a murder on their hands, shouldn't they follow through with the rest of it? But where did they start now? Heaving a sigh, Rei lifted her hands to her temples. This class was a headache enough. Why did she sign up for this again?

"If the villain was after just the jewelry…" Rei paused in her motions, looking up to Midoriya as he continued his train of thought. "Then shouldn't he have taken off right after grabbing it?"

Golden eyes blinked.

Oh.

She would be kicking herself later for not seeing that.

Much to everyone's surprise, it was Cementoss who jumped in. "That's because while I was putting the jewelry in the bag like he was ordering me to, the police arrived."

Just like that? Uraraka caught on before Rei could make a comment. "Did you call them?"

Their teacher civilian actor shook his head. "It wasn't me."

"So somebody saw from outside and called the police."

"In that case…" Midoriya suddenly looked rather certain, determined that he had the answer. "The person that called; it was you, wasn't it, Midnight?"

"M-me?"

It wasn't a very good fake out, but Midoriya continued regardless. "Because you were the only one to come in after the villain entered."

The rest of their group seemed to jump in at this in protest, Bakugou the most vocal and loud of them all. "Idiot, don't make this worse. Why would the person who called the police come inside and get caught on purpose?"

"Because that was the reason why the villain barricaded himself inside in the first place."

To be honest, Rei was lost. She had lost Midoriya's train of thought, and could no longer figure out where he was going with this. And to be frank, she was already about to mentally check out. She was the one who had figured out that this was a suicide, who had defended the civilians when everyone else assumed that they had killed the villain themselves. In her eyes this was wrapped up; the villain was dead, the civilians were saved, the end. But at the same time her interest had been piqued, what with the way that Midoriya was going with the story.

A curious part of her wanted to know how this ended.

"Midnight, you knew the villain before this, didn't you? On top of that, you knew he committed crimes. Knowing that ahead of time he was going to rob the jewelry store, you called the police right after he attacked. And then, right before the police showed up, you entered the jewelry store yourself."

Okay, scratch that.

Rei was lost again, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know where this was going anymore. To her it seemed almost too over the top, too detailed, too nuanced for a training exercise for them to be covering during their summer vacation. But hadn't the wallets, the attention to detail been the exact thing that had sold this exercise in the first place?

Tossing one more glance down to the villain at her feet, she noticed that he was beginning to twitch just a bit. With a raise eyebrow she watched him a little more intently, keeping half her attention on the story Midoriya was weaving. It wasn't like she was super invested anymore. Now she just wanted to know if she was right to tie up the villain so she could prove her classmates wrong.

"The villain was shaken to see an acquaintance appear, but he also understood your real intention. Even so, the villain continued the robbery, tying you up. That was when the police arrived, and he was forced to barricade himself."

Now it was Midnight's turn to react, although given most of her acting to this point, it was most certainly reinforcing Midoriya's admittedly lengthy narrative. "W-why would I feel the need to do that?"

"Isn't it because you wanted to stop him? The villain?" At this Midnight shyly looked away, Midoriya pressing forward even further. By this point Rei was convinced that Midoriya himself was getting way too into it. "No matter how many times you tried to convince him to stop, he wouldn't."

Yeah, okay. Booooring. She was officially zoning out.

Except she couldn't. What if Aizawa was watching and noticed that she wasn't there anymore?

Dammit.

"Wait, Deku-kun!"

Oh thank god, Uraraka finally broke the monologuing. "Even if what you say is true, then why was the villain killed?"

Golden eyes rolled, as she half muttered to herself. "Suicide, remember?"

"If the villain was caught, then Midnight's relationship with him would have been exposed, and she would have a dark shadow fall over her life." As Midoriya continued to elaborate, Midnight began to break down crying, sealing the story.

Aaalright. _Are we done here yet?_

"Then, were Midnight and the villain?"

"Yeah. Midnight was trying to save the villain because she loved him."

"And the villain was trying to save Midnight because he loved her."

A shadow fell over the group, compassion for the two and how their sorry story had ended. It was a tragedy, to see two lovers parted in such a way.

Rei had to turn around and cover her mouth to hide the fact that she was trying not to laugh so hard, she was crying.

Unfortunately, she turned straight to face Bakugou.

Who looked completely revolted by the entire situation and disgusted by the soppy story.

"Good job everyone." It was in that moment that Aizawa appeared in the doorway, Midnight finally breaking character in what was a final emotional whiplash of the day as she cheered out of fun. Right then, Bakugou and Rei finally made eye contact.

She lost it.

The rest of their class jumped at the sudden loudness of Rei's laughter as she clutched her stomach, bending over at the waist as her shoulders shook. Her amusement only set Bakugou off even further, hands sparking with small explosions as he began to yell obscenities in return. "Oi! The fuck are you laughing at, stupid?!"

"Your- your…" Collecting herself for a moment with a sniffle, Rei looked back at Bakugou's face before dissolving into another fit of giggles, much to his irritation and anger. Temper flaring, he smacked his hand on top of her hair, shaking her head around.

"Stop fucking laughing! It's not that funny!" But his anger only made her laugh even harder, a vicious cycle continuing.

The rest of the class looked surprised and horrified.

Uraraka in particular had her brown eyes wide open, unsure if Bakugou was completely set on beating Rei up or not. She was scared for her friend. But at the same time… "Tsuki-chan…"

"Is laughing." Todoroki's eyes were soft. He had seen how natural, how gentle Rei could be before this moment. He had known since after the sports festival, when they had coincidentally met on their way to the hospital where his mother was. All that time he had been kicking himself with grief and agony of how he had nearly killed his classmate, even though he hadn't realized it at the time, so consumed by his own hatred and anger and desire to overcome his father's shadow. And yet, she had approached him with kindness. To see her finally breaking open again was a relief, although neither did he know how to feel about the situation nor the timing since the boy shaking her to the bone looked ready to end her life in an instant.

Midoriya in particular was half concerned, half relieved. Concerned that Bakugou looked as though he were going to rip Rei into shreds, what with the way that she was laughing at him. But in all the entire term, he had never seen her so carefree, had never ever really seen her laugh like this before. It was the most open she had been, slowly prying her layers away so that the class could see her in snippets.

And if he was honest, he could see the annoyed amusement that lingered in the back of Bakugou's eyes as well.

"All right, pull it together." At Aizawa's command Rei began to calm down, although her eyes continued to sparkle with glee, much to Bakugou's irritation. Their teacher nodded to the other three actors, acknowledging his coworkers. "You three are free to go."

As the rest of the teachers walked out of the class, Rei shifted her glance to All Might, who was still lying on the ground, although clearly uncertain if he should remain. But Aizawa did not acknowledge him, and instead he stayed on the ground. Blinking, Rei returned her full attention to Aizawa as he began to speak.

"Midoriya. Your deductions were exactly the same as the scenario we prepared for this." She should have seen this coming. After all, all the minute details were there; wouldn't it make sense that the scenario would be convoluted and peppered with tiny factors as well? "Good job, getting all the way from the beginning to there will few clues."

"Ah, Aizawa-sensei is praising you!"

"Good work, Midoriya."

"But-"

Everyone snapped to attention as Aizawa's eyes fell on Rei, who startled a bit at the sudden intensity.

"You have Akatsuki to thank for saving your score."

"Eh?"

"Tsuki-chan…"

"What?!"

"Akatsuki was the only one who directed efforts to rescuing and consoling the civilians in the beginning, a critical step of any rescue efforts. She was also the one who figured out it was a suicide, saving the civilians from accusation. And finally…"

A booming laughter sounded, and Rei jumped back as All Might suddenly sprang to his feet, striking a pose as best he could with his upper body tied. Was the man ever not going to give her a heart attack? "I am here, as the villain, and still alive!"

The rest of the group burst into shouts and exclamations, while Rei's gaze simply darted between All Might and Aizawa, seeking an explanation. Eventually their homeroom teacher took over, seeing as how All Might suddenly burst out the door and ran down the street, following the other teachers away, arms still tied comically behind his back as he laughed maniacally.

"The rest of you were under the assumption that the body was a corpse, and didn't tie it up. Rei was the only one who thought of the fact that there was a possibility that they were still alive. If it weren't for her, you all would have failed this exam."

"What?!"

"You're allowed to do that…?"

With a flourish and a flip of his scarf, Aizawa turned away, walking down the street in the opposite direction as All Might. "That's all for today's special class. Dismissed!"

Silence.

Then Iida broke their thoughts. "Wait, if the villain is alive, then he pretended to kill himself but was looking for a chance to escape, right?"

Aiyah.

"But then… Midnight misunderstood about their love? What about their love?!" Uraraka looked like she was on the verge of hysterics, with too much emotional whiplash occurring in the span of five minutes. Even Rei's head was spinning, although she was on the opposite end, ready to dissolve into another fit of laughter.

Of course their love wasn't real. Or, at least it was one sided.

But even Midoriya and the other boys seemed invested as well. "Yeah, what about their love?"

"Their love…?"

Rei burst out into laughter again. "Ahahaha, I knew it was too over the top!"

"There was no love! That's all!" Bakugou angrily stormed off, Rei tagging along at his side. She had to jog to keep up with his pace, hopping and skipping as she turned to face him with a sloppy grin spread across her face.

"Bakugou, your face back there…"

"Hah?! You got something to say about my face?"

"Yeah!" With a shit eating grin, and to the horror of the rest of the class, she flicked Bakugou dead center on his forehead before skipping away a few steps for her own safety. When she looked back, she started laughing again. "Yeah! It looked just like that!"

The entire group could feel it. A volcano, ready to erupt. They didn't even have to see his face, Bakugou's back turned toward the group as he stood in between them and Rei, who was a little further ahead on the way back to the main campus. Golden eyes flashed, a stupidly big grin plastered across Rei's face as she looked at Bakugou for a moment longer before sprinting away at top speed, scaling a building and vanishing over the rooftop in the blink of an eye. At least she knew what she had asked for, already darting out of danger's way.

For now.

An explosion ripped through the space, dust obscuring everyone's view.

No one needed to see anything anyway in order to know what was going to happen.

"AKATSUKI! GET BACK HERE YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

With the two of them taking off in the most dangerous game of tag invented yet, the other four were left behind quite literally in the dust, staring off into the distance and trying to comprehend what they had just witnessed.

First of all, they had managed to survive a grueling day of detective work for their special class. Understanding the narrative that they had uncovered had taken quite a bit of detective work and brain power, consuming a good deal of energy. There had been enough emotional whiplash from dealing with the sob story to seeing Midnight's sudden break of character right at the end, to All Might's dramatic reveal at the end.

And then, to layer everything on top of that, there was their own classmates. Rei had burst open in a shocking moment of humor, unable to contain her laughter. It was strange in and of itself that they had never really seen a funny side in her, other than the dry, mocking jokes that she tended to make on the side. All of that, combined with the fact that she had chosen to laugh at the one person no one wanted on their bad side.

What was the world coming to?

Uraraka looked rather nervous for Rei's sake, eyes flitting back and forth between the last remaining members of their group and the direction in which the bickering duo had taken off into. Finally she looked at Midoriya, brown eyes resting on the boy who had a strangely peaceful look on his face. "Deku-kun?"

"Ah, sorry!" He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Just thinking."

"Do you think Rei's going to escape?" Iida half muttered to himself, helmet tucked under his arm. He had lifted a hand to his chin, as though calculating the statistical odds of how many pieces they would find Rei in once they got back to the classroom, or if they would even find a body at all. "Of all the risky things she does…"

"She'll be fine." To everyone's surprise, it was Todoroki who began walking forward, leading the rest of the group back toward the main campus at a slower pace. Hands in his pockets, he simply looked forward as he walked, confidence showing on his face. "She's not stupid."

Puffing her cheeks out, Uraraka began to follow. "I know that…"

But Midoriya smiled softly to himself. He had to agree with Todoroki. Even though Bakugou had been quick to jump after Rei, there was something different about him. About her. About the two of them.

Change was often strange, but never always a bad thing. Deep down inside, he couldn't help but feel like this was a turn for the better.

* * *

"I said I was sorry!"

"And I said that's bullshit! You're not sorry at all!"

Rei grinned, unable to hold it back any longer. "You're right. I'm not sorry."

Her admission only earned another flick on her ear, earning a yelp and a scowl as she rubbed the offended appendage and glowered at her companion as they began the trek home.

Their chase through Ground Beta had ended with Bakugou tackling Rei into the ground, sending them flying and skidding on the pavement before grinding to a halt, Rei rather disoriented. He had slammed into her rather powerfully, using his explosions to propel himself forward at a fast rate, and even though he had been rather unamused and held her under his form for a minute she had noticed how he had guarded her head from sustaining severe trauma from his onslaught. Even so, she was thankful that her costume had absorbed much of the impact and kept her from getting scratched and beaten up by the stray gravel and other debris on the ground. But after he sat on top of her and pinned her down, listening to her complain about how heavy he was, he had simply flicked her on the forehead and stormed off to change into his regular school uniform, finally leaving Rei in the dust.

She had half expected him to go home without her, what with the dramatic exit he made and what with how she had irritated and poked fun at him all day, but to her surprise he had been waiting at the school gates as usual. She had made yet another witty comment, receiving another flick on the forehead before he had turned away, bringing them to where they were now walking side by side.

"You're insufferable."

"And you needed to let off some steam. You seriously looked ready to rip off Aizawa-sensei's head at the end of that session."

"Hah! And that's why you made me run after you?"

"Yes."

Stunned, Bakugou found himself falling silent at Rei's blatant admission. They continued to walk along, Rei keeping her eyes schooled on the road in front of them. "I know you. You were expecting to fight, from what Aizawa told us in the morning. But all we did was rationalize the situation out. Anyone could tell you were pent up."

He muttered something half to himself, something along the lines of her being a "know it all," with Rei only smirking half in response, half to herself. She was right, and they both knew it.

Lapsing into another comfortable silence for a while, Rei simply drank in the afternoon light. It had been a good day. A bit mentally grueling, but worth it. "Thanks," she began, "for dragging me out to this class."

"Drag yourself next time, idiot."

Again, the term was spoken with endearment. As Rei snuck a glance over at her friend she noted the way that the sunlight danced in his eyes, making them glitter a brilliant ruby color and setting them aflame in the late afternoon. This time his trademark scowl was suspiciously missing, face looking much more smooth than it normally was.

Rei knew why. She would be a fool to not understand or try to convince herself otherwise.

Soon, she promised herself. Soon, she would give in. She could already feel her walls breaking down like a dam in ill repair, the overflow ready to pour over the barriers she both wanted to remain intact but was too lazy to repair. These feelings would eventually breach the walls and break everything she had tried to contain for all this time.

Soon.

* * *

**AN:** To be honest, I originally threw this and the next chapter to the side because I didn't know what to write. But I'm finally making progress, even if it was like pulling teeth! **In the next chapter, we'll be getting to the training camp arc! Get excited!**

I seriously need a break from writing. Today (I'm writing this AN on Thursday and uploading it ahead of time) was my free day, and I was going to take it easy and watch some shows for fun. I literally started watching Bleach again (tbt to 2004 when televisions were still square and we literally had all of sixty four pixels for our resolution lol), and my brain immediately went to writing. I ended up cycling through four different chapters/ stories (a Bleach brainstorm, a new AU for this story, editing this current chapter, and writing for chapter 24) for the entire day. I'm seriously wiped. I estimated that I wrote another 18k today alone. Like... how? Apparently I'm back on my bullshit.

In any case, I'm taking a break from writing for the next few days. I've promised that the only thing I'll touch are my AU ideas for this story, and nothing new. It's also to make sure I get homework done as well for class. But don't worry! I only have another 1-2k or so to write for the next chapter, and I'll have that done for sure by the next time I update. It's just a small, personal break for me. If anything, I'll upload what I have and do edits later, since what I do have is already chunky enough.

**Review Response time!**

**dragontamer64**: I hope you are doing alright! Thanks for taking the time to write a review even if you're busy or not doing well. Hope things are working out for you still! I'm glad that the fight was fun; I kind of forgot what I had written, so returning to edit that chapter after not seeing it for a couple weeks was really fun for me as well. Yay, Bakugou and Rei content!

**yaoi4adollar**: Rei is such a sweetheart at her core. Little miss tough nugget, but such a softie. Thanks for the review!

**Anseo**: I'm glad that you liked my choice of Jirou! I was really thinking hard about things and how to change things up a bit and make it unpredictable, so Jirou was the first character that came to mind (also because she's super easy to work with). I will take that fighting suggestion into consideration, though now that I think about it you might enjoy the training camp arc... Mwahahaha :D Thank you for all the Rei appreciation and love! And I promise, I will try to finish the AU some time soon... I promise I will. (also, the UNIQLO shirt is LIFE)

**ILikeFoxes828**: YES OUR SHIP IS SAILING AND I AM HERE FOR IT! Please look forward to the next chapter for more very excellent Rei/ Bakugou content. Thank you for the reviews again!

**Dear Apollo**: Thank you so much! Honestly reviews do help me a lot, but I can't force people to leave a bunch of reviews. I feel like I'm a pretty new writer on this site too, so not many people have read this. In any case, thank you for your love! Please look forward to more beefy chapters in the future :D

**Please look forward to some very good Rei/Bakugou (or as I now love to call, the "Grumpy Cat" ship) content next chapter!**

**Please leave a review if you are enjoying this story!**


	24. Us

AN: Four months ago, I had written 23 chapters for this story. I had no plans to post anything, but threw it up on this site anyway just in case someone found it and found joy in it.

Today marks the 24th chapter.

**This chapter is dedicated to everyone who has followed, favorited, and especially those who have reviewed to this point.**

**Thank you for your support!**

* * *

Chapter 24

Us

* * *

"God damn it, Momo. You're lucky I like you."

"Isn't this wonderful? I'm glad that we have access to the pool so that all of us could get together to do something fun!"

The rest of the girls chimed in, cheering excitedly. Only Rei wore a deep scowl on her face, lips pouting as she folded her arms over her chest and looked around. Almost the entire class was present, Midoriya gathering the boys for some endurance training that had happened last minute. At least they seemed like they were going to train on their own. She muttered half to herself, but just loud enough so that Momo could hear her. "This is stupid."

Time was passing by faster than ever. It was difficult to believe that Rei had been with Class 1-A for one term already, although she was clearly progressing and changing in so many ways that marked her rapid growth. She still could say that she wasn't quite buddy-buddy with everyone in the class yet, or that she even wanted to get to know everyone (God forbid her mind ever change about Mineta), but she was slowly merging in with the fold. What was even more strange was that everyone for the most part seemed to accept her with open arms; they all seemed to accept her as she was and not ask any further questions.

Change was often hard to accept. This was no different. But Rei found herself relaxing in the fact that there were people upon whom she knew she could call upon in her moment of need. They didn't need to be best friends. Their entire class had been subject to events stranger than most, and that was enough to pull them together in at least some ways.

But of all the people that she had expected to tolerate by the end of the first term, the top three on her list would certainly have made her laugh if she knew in the past what she knew now. From the first day of school - no, from the entrance exam, when he had stood up in the middle of the auditorium and bellowed his demands from on high - Iida Tenya was a boy Rei detested. Of course, that wasn't strange; Rei didn't like many people. But Iida had swiftly taken the top of her list with his loud voice, mechanical and choppy movements, and his rich boy, know-it-all attitude that had immediately shut Rei down mentally on the first day. He was the embodiment of almost every single thing Rei hated in the universe, a walking-talking match that was sure to light Rei's fuse and make her explode. Now he was tolerable. There was no way Rei would consider him a close friend yet at all, or even a regular friend, but he was an acquaintance that she no longer wanted to tear his head off in order to get some peace and quiet. And that in itself was a feat worth noting.

Iida had gained Rei's slow, grudging respect, ever since the incident in Hosu City. Or perhaps she had begun to respect him after the sports tournament, where he had conceded defeat in a rather honorable way, catching Rei by surprise. Growing up, Rei could count on one hand the times where her opponents had respectfully backed down from a lost fight. In fact, she didn't even need any hands to count that. But Iida was nothing but honorable, and for that she had to respect him at least a little bit. Seeing him completely broken down and stripped to the core of his emotions in Hosu City had also made Rei soften just a bit, enough to acknowledge and realize that he wasn't a good for nothing, ball of annoyance that threw himself into Rei's path willingly. He was a good person, and for all the irritants and times that he rubbed Rei the wrong way, he would make an honorable and good hero. That alone deserved respect.

A close runner up was Momo. Yaoyorozu, Momo, Yaomomo. the fact that Rei called her friend by such endearing terms was enough to make her reflect upon all the negative feelings she had harbored for the girl in the first week of school. Back then she had been just another rich girl, surely entitled and thinking of herself as better and more advanced than her classmates. Sure, there was a bit of truth behind those statements; Yaoyorozu was rather genius like, was well trained, and there were times when things came out of her mouth that only served to remind everyone just how big the difference in incomes between her family and their own was. But never in a million years would Rei have thought that she would have befriended the gentle and thoughtful girl that had rescued her from a dark place that one day in March. Rei was incredibly thankful for their friendship, the way that Yaoyorozu simply accepted her as she was, the way that they worked and joked together in a natural way. Even if Yaomomo hadn't understood Rei's thoughts and history, she took the time to be sympathetic, and that was moving in and of itself.

And Bakugou. Where did Rei start? The antagonistic, self-centered, stuck up, self-righteous, irritable boy that had attempted to single her out from the first day had somehow wedged himself into her heart as well. Where Iida and Yaoyorozu were the wellbred upper class kids that Rei had learned to hate simply because they lounged in their money and prestige, Bakugou had been the rough, fight starting kid that Rei hated simply because they had picked on her all throughout elementary and middle school. Angry and always looking to start something, Rei had been wary. But she had also been curious.

But there was little time to muse over these facts now. She had been watching the class from the back corner on the last day of school, when all the girls in their class had crowded around Rei and Yaoyorozu's desks, a gaggle of chatter that Rei was slowly becoming more and more accustomed to. Far from the first month of school where she had lingered on the periphery, she was now actively included and participated in their conversations, even if she was the most quiet out of all of them. Almost all of them had been complaining about the school's requirement that they remain in the area during their summer vacation, most likely not wanting another accident to happen to their precious U.A. students who seemed to have the worst luck, especially Class 1-A. It was Hagakure who had the next best idea, unsurprising since her suggestion for a class shopping trip had been fairly successful. She had suggested they meet at the pool, to which there was a resounding chorus excitement.

Save for Rei. Water still gave her the chills, for obvious reasons. But the enthusiasm of the other girls had her reluctantly caving, all the while mentally telling herself that she would just stick to the sides and maybe dangle her legs in the pool. Now that they were on site, it was impossible to stick to the sides and relatively out of sight. Yaoyorozu especially seemed adamant on getting Rei to enjoy herself, even as a black and brooding rain cloud lingered over her head.

Damn Hagakure and her ideas. At least the idea of shopping with others was palatable.

A hand rested on her shoulder, making Rei look up in surprise. Yaoyorozu wore an energetic, yet patient look on her face as she smiled down at her friend. "Tsuki-chan, do you want to learn how to swim?"

"Eh?" That caught her off guard. Golden eyes bugged out in response. "Teach… me?"

"You haven't learned how yet, have you?"

Leave it to Momo to remember everything. Rei scowled again, but this time there was less of a bite to it. At least her friend had bothered to remember the source of her own discomfort. Still, that wasn't enough to make Rei start skipping up and down the poolside and singing about butterflies and rainbows.

"I don't like this."

"The pool isn't that deep over here," the class vice president reassured her, looping her arm around Rei's and guiding her to one of the corners of the pool in the shallow section. "You'll be able to stand, and I'll be with you the entire time to help."

With every passing moment it was looking like Rei had less and less of a choice in the matter. But Momo's reassurance had helped her, and Rei found that her resistance was slowly declining. Slowly. It wasn't anywhere near gone, but Momo had a point; now was the perfect time to learn. Besides, what if she found herself in a situation with water again? She couldn't let herself be dead in the water (pun totally intended) and wait for someone else to save her. Wasn't she a hero in training?

The boys were doing training. Surely Rei could think of this as a training of her own.

Steeling her nerves, she nodded her head in assent. "Fine. Let's do this, I guess."

"Leave this to me!"

They sat down on the ledge, sticking their legs in first. Momo slid into the pool without hesitation, standing and waiting for Rei to follow her. She hesitated, flinching internally before swallowing hard and pushing herself off the edge, flinching as her feet hit the ground and the cool water made its way all the way up to just below her chest. The other girls began to follow, finishing up their stretches as they began hopping in, Asui and Ashido quite literally jumping into the water as the others followed a bit more slowly. The boys also began to move on Iida's directions, and as everyone's attention split off Rei felt a little less conscious about her inadequacy in the water.

She started with floating, Momo's hands never far from supporting her back as Rei focused on keeping her torso up and her breath controlled. It wasn't so terrible, and Rei found that regular swimming wasn't so bad either. Yaoyorozu was a good teacher, and while Rei wasn't going to match any of the boys or the girls any time soon for that matter she was confident that she wouldn't flail and sink in panic. Eventually though the other girls roped the duo into playing a mock game of volleyball with an inflatable beach ball, wading and jumping through the water as they all worked to keep the ball afloat. Even Rei found herself grinning along with the others, laughing when the ball bounced on top of Hagakure's head or whenever some of the girls fell over in their attempts to reach the ball.

It was a good introduction, and Rei found herself both relaxing and tiring out. Trying to move through water was harder than it looked, giving her a good workout with her core and legs as she tried to move quickly through the space. After nearly an hour they all decided to take a break, climbing out of the pool and letting the sun dry them off.

Rei stretched her arms out over her head and across her chest, muscles demanding some sort of brief respite. Yaoyorozu handed her a cold can of orange juice, another one in her own hands for herself. "Good work, Tsuki-chan. You learn fast!"

"Yeah." Rei smiled. "I have a good teacher."

Her gratitude seemed to fluster the girl as she flushed, hands clasped in front of her chest. Before she could say anything, a shout came from across the complex, drawing almost everyone's attention. To Rei's surprise as well as almost everyone else's, Bakugou was storming across the concrete toward Midoriya and Iida, Kirishima barely appearing in time to hold him back. Rei blinked slowly, taking in their interactions and unable to avoid looking at the boy up and down, eyes lingering just a moment too long on his chiseled chest and ripped arms. She turned her gaze away quickly, but not quick enough.

Yaoyorozu clasped her hands behind her back, her mouth failing terrible as she tried to compose herself. "Tsuki-chan-"

"Shut it." Rei growled while rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest as she looked away. But her ears were still turned toward their conversation, picking up bits and pieces.

Kirishima was trying to hold Bakugou back, a sheepish smile on his face as per usual. "I got your message, but sorry we're a little late! It took some time to get Bakugou to come."

"Hah? I came on my own, shitty hair!"

"Well, not really… I had to tell you that the entire class was gonna be there training."

"Shut it! We're here now!"

Even though the boys were still jabbering away on their own, the appearance of Bakugou and Kirishima meant that the full class was finally at the pool, and the girls began creeping over from their side to encroach on their conversation. Suddenly Iida stood straight up, calling out with his loud voice. "Everyone! Do you want to see which of the boys can swim the fifty meters the fastest?"

With his authoritative calling, it sounded more like a demand than a question. But the boys were clearly motivated by a challenge, everyone standing back up from their break with grins on their faces, refreshed and ready for a new ordeal. Rei simply folded her arms over her chest, rolling her eyes. "Boys."

Yaoyorozu stepped forward from the group. "Iida-san, we will help too!"

"Great! Thank you?"

Rei's eyebrows raised. "Huh? We will?"

"Of course!" As the boys began diving into the technicalities of the race, Yaoyorozu turned around as the girls began to talk amongst themselves. The class vice president seemed rather excited, even if the girls weren't participating. "We'll be the judges of each round and make sure everything is fair!"

"Knowing how competitive some of them are, they're gonna want to cheat or fight if the other boys judges, right?"

Yaoyorozu nodded at Ashido, a smile on her face. "Right! We'll need at least two people standing on the end to watch who touches first! The more people we have, the more accurate we'll be."

Everyone immediately began calling out their jobs, leaving Rei on the periphery, bewildered. Was everyone seriously getting this into a swimming competition? Unbelievable, although given everyone's personalities, it wasn't so absurd perhaps to think about. Everyone in Class 1-A tended to get worked up over the slightest bit of competition and the chance to improve their quirks, so logically it did make a bit of sense. It still didn't keep Rei from rolling her eyes again at the dramatics of everything.

Yaoyorozu approached Rei as the girls began scattering around the poolside, a smile on her face. "We'll be watching from the sides to make sure that no one cheats. Do you want to be on this side or the other side?"

"Other is fine. I'll be going now." Shrugging her shoulders and waving her hand, Rei began walking around the pool perimeter to get to the other side. She still wasn't confident enough to swim all the way across, especially with everyone watching, so she kept to the edges and quickly but safely strode to the other side.

As she made her way toward the first group of boys preparing for their swim, Rei's eyes met her neighbor's almost by chance, the two of them staring at one another as Rei raised a single eyebrow in challenge, as though asking him what he was looking at. Red eyes raked up and down her figure slowly, almost enticingly, before raising to meet gold with a suggestive smirk on his face.

Rei only clenched her jaw in an effort to keep her cool and prevent herself from flushing, changing her path so that it brought her closer to Bakugou's location. As she passed him by she smacked him on the back of the head with a solid "whap" sound, making his swim group turn in surprise as Bakugou began to rage. "Oi! The hell was that, bean sprout?!"

"Don't give me that crap! I'll kick your ass!"

"Hah! Like you could!"

But she didn't stop moving on her trek over to the other side of the pool, only turning around and walking backwards as she mocked at him. "Get your head in the game, and don't even think of cheating!"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

Her only response was to turn over her shoulder and raise a middle finger, knowing that he couldn't do anything without leaving his position and delaying the race even further. She could hear his grumbling and mutterings, glancing over her shoulder in amusement as she made her way to the midpoint of the long side of the pool. The other boys around him were slowly inching away from the anger activated on his face and seeping from his body, leaving him to stew in peace.

Most of the rest of the class didn't see the full interaction or were engrossed in their own conversations, leaving Rei to wander to the side of the pool in peace. None of the other girls seemed to notice anything, making her breathe a sigh of relief. Yaoyorozu was already being too much today, what with all the teasing about seeing Bakugou shirtless. What would her friend say if she knew that this wasn't the first time Rei had seen him like this?

To her surprise, Kirishima made his way over to her and came to stand at her side. "Man, Bakugou's really worked up right now. What'd you say to him?"

"Nothing."

He looked at her suspiciously for a moment before letting the subject drop, scratching the back of his head. "Man, for someone who's super worked up now, he really didn't want to come today. Took forever to drag him out of his house. He really isn't a morning person."

Rei snorted in amusement, lifting her eyes to the skies in feigned dramatics. "When is he ever a functioning person?"

"Ahaha, you're pretty funny, Akatsuki-san!"

"Tsuki-chan is fine, Kirishima-kun."

"Right!" He flashed a thumbs up, about to say something else before Yaoyorozu raised her hand and used a whistle she had created.

"Are we ready?"

Everyone seemed prepared, and as soon as Yaoyorozu gave the sign the race was off.

To everyone's surprise, Bakugou simply blasted himself over the entire pool, landing on the other side in a matter of seconds with a smug look on his face as he grinned maniacally back at the rest of the class. "How was that, you extras?!"

Kirishima's jaw dropped as he yelled back at his friend, the other boys yelling as well. "You didn't even swim!"

Rei only blinked, lifting a hand to her chin for a moment. "Technically, everyone agreed that you could use your quirk…"

The redhead turned on her, astounded. "Seriously, Tsuki-chan?"

She only shrugged nonchalantly, as though she had nothing else to say. After much muttering and deliberation (as well as some more yelling from Bakugou), it was determined that his use of his quirk was fair game, since they didn't establish any different rules from the beginning that said otherwise.

To no one's surprise, it was Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya who won their heats, although their fashions and methods were a bit surprising. Contrary to what everyone had expected, Todoroki has simply created an ice floor and slide his way into victory, landing on the other side of the pool with a neutral expression on his face as the other boys tried to call him out. At least Midoriya and Iida had been close in their heat; much to Rei's surprise it was Iida who had also decided to circumvent actual swimming in his determination to win, although Midoriya's Full Cowl proved too effective in the end.

"All right!"

Everyone had crowded into the shade, taking a respite from the bright afternoon sun. Iida stood at the front of the group, with the winners close to him. "The winners of each heat, Bakugou, Todoroki, and Midoriya, will now race for first place. Is that alright?"

Todoroki and Midoriya nodded in assent, Bakugou simply tossing his head to the side. "Oi, half-and-half bastard! Don't hold back like you did at the sports festival, hah?" Turning on his heel, he snapped at Midoriya next. "Oi, you too! Damn Deku!"

"R-right!"

Taking their places at the podium, the three boys began to ready themselves for the final race. Everyone began cheering for their classmates, even as Iida raised his hand. "Then, the fifty meter freestyle swim will begin now!"

"Ready… set!"

The whistle blew, the boys leaping into the air immediately. But strangely enough the trio instead flopped into the water unceremoniously, their momentum halting and sending them down into the water rather than forward.

Rei blinked. Their quirks had been cut off. But that could only mean…

"It's five o'clock. Your pooltime use has now ended. Hurry up and go home."

Aizawa-sensei.

Shuddering at his sudden appearance and the way that his eyes activated and glowed a faint red, she watched with faint amusement and horror as some of the other students tried to argue against their teacher, knowing full well that nothing good would come of it. It had been a while since they had seen his quirk fully activated, hair and bindings floating up behind and around him in a mystical fashion. Frankly, she was just impressed that some of their classmates had dared open their mouth when their homeroom teacher had come at them with such intensity like this.

"Aw, come on, Aizawa-sensei!"

"We were just getting to the good part!"

Eyes flashing even more dangerously, he leveled the class with a single look. Silence.

"Did I hear something?"

"Nothing, sir!"

With a final nod and one last glare that dared them to go against his words, Aizawa turned around and left the pool area, the class immediately turning to clean the area up. The conversation only picked up in the changing room as the girls began chattering away, excited at the day's events. But Rei was in a slight daze from the day, not to mention exhausted from all that time in the pool and the sun. Swimming really did make one exhausted from using a bunch of different muscle groups. She would have to consider doing more of it for training.

But her mind continued to run back to Bakugou's look. It had definitely been appreciative, but Rei was horrified that he had the audacity to give such a look when they were around others in their class. What if he had been seen? What would the others think?

"Tsuki-chan, are you alright?"

Looking up in surprise, she turned to see Yaoyorozu looking at her in concern. "I'm fine… why?"

"You just look really intense right now."

Scowling, Rei shook her head. "Just thinking things. I need to talk with Bakugou after this."

At least Yaoyorozu didn't say anything, but she grinned, her back turned toward the other girls. Sometimes Rei wondered if Yaoyorozu knew how to be subtle, but now was a time where she was relieved to find the answer. "Alright. I'll text you later then."

Rei nodded her head, picking up her small duffle bag of materials before giving her goodbyes to the other girls and heading out the door. Now that she was outside, she wasn't exactly sure if she would even find Bakugou until later that evening. What if he had already left, had been faster than her at changing? Or what if he was still changing? It wouldn't make sense to wait though, and she would have to explain herself or come up with an excuse to anyone who saw her.

Her luck was up for the day, however, as she saw two familiar figures in front of her, just outside of the school gates. She had to jog to catch up, but it wasn't impossible, calling out softly ahead of her.

"Kirishima-kun. Bakugou."

* * *

"Damn it! Stopping the race like that!"

Bakugou kicked at a rather large pebble that was sitting in the middle of the road, sending it flying into the air and quite a ways down their path as the hill sloped toward the bottom. A trademark scowl was plastered on his face, brows cinched together as red eyes stared forward aggressively. It was clear that he was peeved about having the race cancelled at the last minute by their homeroom teacher, but at least he was smart enough to hold his tongue. Well, it had been more accurate that he had only heard the last half of the conversation and hadn't actually ascertained why their homeroom teacher had been there until he got out of the pool, but at least he had enough sense to know when Aizawa-sensei meant business simply by looking at the man's demeanor. Shoving his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slumped forward as he brooded, staring ahead at the path before them back to the train station.

Kirishima walked at his side trying to console his friend. "I know how you feel, but calm down. Midoriya and Todoroki are classmates and friends, right?"

"Shut up!"

For a moment there was silence, but only because Bakugou was brooding once more. "No matter who it is, I won't let them catch up to me, let alone get ahead of me!"

The red haired boy blinked in surprise, though he smiled gently after a while. That was what had drawn him to the explosive boy; his determination, his will to stay at the top. More than that, he knew that he deserved to be at the top, and wasn't about to pretend that he wasn't. He was assured in his position, but aware of the structures at play.

He opened his mouth to respond, but another voice cut in.

"Kirishima-kun. Bakugou."

The duo looked behind them, Kirishima's face brightening up at their classmate's appearance. "Oh, Tsuki-chan!"

Rei smiled at the acknowledgement, slowing down as she finally caught up to the two. "Heading back to the station?"

"Yeah! Want to join us?"

"Just don't get in my way!"

A single eyebrow raised at his prickly personality as Bakugou stormed ahead of the two. Kirishima leaned over a bit apologetically, a small smile on his face. "He's just mad that the race got called off at the end."

"I see." Rei smiled back. "Well, you had it easy today. You missed most of the training that Midoriya and Iida put everyone through."

"Yeah! I'm pretty bummed about it. Did you take part in it?"

"Me? No. Yaoyorozu was teaching me to swim."

"Oh, I see!" A moment. Then it clicked. "Wait, you don't know how to swim?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Rei looked to the side a bit sheepishly, though the corners of her lips were downturned from having exposed one of her weaknesses. "Had a bad experience as a kid. Haven't touched water since."

"Oh, sorry." He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly for a moment before brilliantly smiling again, perking up and grinning down at Rei. "But that's really manly of you! Facing your fears and learning how to swim!"

Rei smiled genuinely, appreciating the sentiment. "Thanks."

From there the conversation shifted toward the training camp and preparations that the duo had made. Strangely enough, Bakugou seemed to not care about what they talked about, staying out of it and not even making any wry or catty remarks over his shoulder. It was the first sign that Rei knew something was off, although she didn't want to bring it up with Kirishima around. No, she would wait until a later time when they were more alone.

At the train station the trio became a duo, with Kirishima cheerfully parting with a grin and a wave before disappearing into another sector of the train station and out of sight. Rei barely had time to keep up with Bakugou as the boy strode off purposefully, making Rei work hard to catch up with him as he threatened to disappear as well.

"Bakugou?"

He didn't reply. Fortunately the train was relatively empty for the time of day, only a few other travelers in the cab with them. The two managed to find a seat, Bakugou immediately sitting next to the window and staring out as Rei tentatively sat next to him. She wasn't sure if he wanted to be around her, what with the strangeness of his attitude, but he said nothing as she settled down at his side.

Silence. It was not the kind of silence that left one feeling comfortable. Rei wondered if Bakugou felt as anxious as she did. She pulled out her phone, tapping away at things in an effort to keep herself busy, but eventually she ran out of things to do.

"Why don't you use any suffixes with my name?"

Startled, Rei had to blink at the suddenness and seemingly randomness of his question. But eventually she caught on, lowering her head. She had tacked on a harmless "-kun" on Kirishima's name, but nothing onto Bakugou. In fact, with most of the people she was familiar with, especially the boys, she had begun changing the suffixes to signify how she was growing more comfortable. It was almost ironic how the person she was most comfortable with hadn't experienced that change yet.

"I'm sorry," she formally apologized, head still low. "I didn't realize. I didn't think you cared."

He scoffed, though it was softer than usual. "Of course I do. You of all people should know."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize."

"Then, what do you want me to call you?" A grin came over her face as she looked up to her seat partner, a teasing light in her eyes. "Kacchan?"

Rolling his eyes, he snorted. "Don't ever say that name ever again."

"Any other preferences?"

For a moment he fell silent, staring out the window in contemplation. His face was thoughtful, and Rei found herself openly staring at the angles of his facial structure, golden eyes roaming freely and greedily drinking him in. Eventually he turned back toward her, red eyes surprisingly soft as they tended to be when it was just the two of them.

"Katsuki."

Rei's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Not when anyone else is around, idiot."

Scowling, Rei folded her arms over her chest. "I know that much, stupid."

He snorted, rolling his eyes in feigned exasperation. Relaxing her shoulders, Rei's voice was quiet as she mused. "Then, call me Rei."

"Rei."

The sound of his voice sent shivers down her spine, and she had to adjust her seat so as to hide the fact that she was slightly unnerved by the intimate and reverent tone of voice that had emitted from his chest. Clearing her throat, she settled back down, looking back up tentatively into red eyes. "Katsuki."

It was the first time she had seen his eyes sparkle like that, his face genuinely lighting up although he hid most of it well. Still, his lips were quirked up in an endearing smile, and he leaned his head on his hand as he propped up his arm on the windowsill of the train. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Don't be such an ass."

"You first."

Rei chuckled, shaking her head gently. For a moment silence fell in between them once more, but Rei found that she had something to say.

"I've been thinking."

She paused, unsure if she herself wanted to continue, but red eyes were on her already, encouraging her to speak. Inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly, she found the courage to continue. "About… this," she gestures to the space between them. "And I think… I like you."

If she could melt into the floor from the look that he gave her, she would seeped from the train and into the core of the earth itself. It was overwhelming, but he remained silent, waiting for her to continue. She had to catch her breath before continuing, swallowing hard. "But I feel like an… actual, formal, relationship, just isn't really…"

"Us."

"Yeah. Us." A ridiculously big smile spread across her face as she began to giggle, lifting her hands to her mouth in an attempt to smother the action. Bakugou only raised his eyebrows in response, curious but still waiting patiently. "Us. It's… funny. I mean, not funny, but… you know?"

He shook his head, the smallest of smiles on his face. "Yeah." He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, as though embarrassed. "But, it's not us."

"Right." Returning to the task at hand, Rei still couldn't help but smile. "Like, with our class, I don't think I would say anything. Not even to Momo." Bakugou quirked an eyebrow up at that, but said nothing else about it. "But I don't know what else… we would be."

"Idiot," he said softly in an endearing tone of voice, hand still on his neck as he looked away for a moment. "We'll just be us."

Rei exhaled a sigh of relief, all the tension dispelling in a moment at his words. Nothing formal. Just them, carrying on as they always had. Of course, that wasn't to say that they wouldn't be communicating boundaries and other things, but they were on the same page already. Of course they were; they were such similar people, even with all their differences. They worked, for some strange reason, and Rei wasn't one to question it.

It simply was.

They would keep the boundaries up, so that their classmates wouldn't pry. They wouldn't try to inspect what they couldn't see. And the world would continue to spin.

Even if, in that hazy afternoon, the world had slowed down for just a moment as Rei dropped her head onto his shoulder, tentatively, but relaxing as he slouched to adjust his height so that she would have an easier time. A smile on her face even as she looked forward, she missed the smile on his own face as well.

No one would need to know, not for a while.

For now, Rei could be content in the fact that her biggest fear had been erased; they wouldn't change at all, but instead continue to be as they were before. Things would carry on as always.

* * *

It was finally time to begin the U.A. summer training camp, and they had finally arrived at the campsite.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

She didn't say this out loud. Of course, it probably wouldn't have mattered if she did anyway. Everyone was definitely thinking it as they hauled their broken asses to the campsite, beaten and broken from their trials through the forest of horrors. Disheveled and fragmented, they limped, staggered, and clasped their nauseous stomachs as they made their way into the clearing. It didn't help that the pussycats were waiting for them, congratulating them in a mocking manner that made Rei want to tear her hair out.

As Iida was infamous for saying, "As expected of U.A.!"

Ugh. Gross.

Rei was gross. She was sweaty and covered in scratches and dirt. Frankly, she was about to take a shower over eating dinner, her skin crawling and back aching for a hot, steamy respite. Nose twitching in disgust, she couldn't help but notice they all smelled terrible now that they had been through the first part of training camp hell.

It didn't help that this was only the beginning, and Rei was certain it was only going to get worse from here on out.

Pixie Bob began to leer at a particular group of four boys, notably the strongest of their entire class. Bakugou, Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki all seemed uncomfortable and uncertain as the blonde woman began to prance around them with a sinister grin on her face, the rest of the class looking on in pity. Rei didn't care. She wanted a shower. Her mind drifted to how their morning had begun, in relative chaos after a sudden dive.

"_It's 9:30 AM right now. If you're fast… maybe around noon?"_

_As the rest of the class began to scramble back toward the bus, Rei found herself looking at Aizawa, who looked relatively unperturbed by the turn of events. Golden eyes narrowed. So he was in on this. If that was the case, then none of them were given a choice to get out of this. The ground began to rumble and rise, shifting under their feet before suddenly erupting upwards, transforming into a massive landslide that carried the entire class away. Sweeping them over the edge of the cliff, screams filled the air as most people found themselves off balance and unable to recover._

_Rei breathed steadily, moving with the ground and keeping her balance as she shifted through the air. As the dirt began to fall she began surveying her options, finding that she had been pushed further out than the rest of the class since she had been closest to the edge. The treeline was close, encouraging Rei to jump forward and use the foliage to slow her descent. Landing in front of the class and dropping to her feet, she looked back at the rest of her peers. Everyone had landed, for better or for worse. Most looked fairly scratched up, brushing themselves and their crinkled and dirty shirts with looks ranging from fear to annoyance. _

_Of course this would be their luck. They had run into Class 1-B that morning, the two classes boarding separate buses that would take them to the training camp. Even with the competitive and antagonistic nature that some of them showed (actually, only one person showed; it was that blonde fop of a boy), everyone seemed agreeable and amenable to the turn of events. But clearly Aizawa had different plans for his own class, dumping them into the fire before it had even reached its highest temperature._

"_Since it's private land, you can use your quirks as you wish!" Mandalay's voice echoed down from the top as she shouted to their group. "You have three hours; come to the facility on your own two feet! After getting through… the Beast's Forest!" _

_Mineta ran off into the woods, muttering something to himself, but Rei's ears picked up something first. She took a step forward, then another, before she broke into a sprint. "Stop! There's something there!" _

_It was Midoriya who stepped up to the plate, quickly realizing what Rei herself had seen. He dashed forward using his quirk, swooping Mineta out of the way while Rei went head on. Blasting through the air she delivered a solid kick to the creature's face, sending it reeling with a screech as Rei continued through the air. It was less solid than she had anticipated, the face partially crumbling from her blow. But before she could retaliate to land the finishing blow, four figures bolted forward to finish the job for her._

_Bakugou landed next to her, the two of them standing side by side and sliding into defensive stances. His hands crackled, but Rei extended her arm in front of him, making him look at her in irritation and confusion. She only lifted her other hand to her face, a solitary finger in front of her lips. "Shh." _

_Even as the rest of the class moved forward to catch up with the vanguard and began to talk, Rei's ears could pick up the sound of mud and dirt squelching, rising and forming to creature new monsters and atrocities. Her brow furrowed as she dropped her hands to her sides. "That's not the last of them."_

"_Oi, you're great, Bakugou!"_

"_Not yet!" Bakugou growled, cutting off Kirishima and drawing everyone's attention. The group stilled as the forest stirred in an unnatural manner, Rei's eyes darting around and catching unearthly movements, quite literally. There was a winged monster that had leapt from the ground not far from where the two of them stood, Rei's eyes able to catch the dragonesque details even in the dim lighting. _

_So their enemies would be varied. That would make for an interesting challenge._

"_Hey, come on now."_

"_How many of them are there?"_

"_What should we do? Run away?"_

"_Man, this is no joke! If we want lunch, we gotta go!" _

_Yaoyorozu stepped forward. "Then we have no choice but to get through here and take the shortest route." _

"_Alright, let's go, Class 1-A!"_

_Rei darted forward even as Iida cheered on their class, rallying them and raising their spirits. It didn't take long for Bakugou to catch up to her, the two of them leading the way and racing ahead of the group. Their actions provoked little dissonance; there was no stopping the two of them at this point, and so long as their actions helped destroy those creatures there was no point in complaining or attempting to direct them. Bakugou would do what he wanted. And Rei…_

_Well, Rei always had a plan. Who was to tell her otherwise?_

"_You gonna stay outta my way?"_

_She couldn't help the competitive smirk that covered her face as she grinned back at the blonde. "You're more suited for the vanguard with how fast you move. Just leave some for me."_

_The wicked grin she received in return was more than enough, even if it sent a shiver down her spine and lit a competitive fire within her. "No promises."_

"_Let's go." _

"_Yeah." _

That had been hours ago, when they had been slightly more optimistic about their arrival time. Now that the sun was setting and a golden orange light had been cast over everyone, they couldn't help but feel slightly beaten, even if they had arrived at their destination in relatively one piece. Keyword: relatively. Iida in particular had been dragging his legs behind him, engines completely exhausted and muscles cramping up. Rei herself was tired to the bone, the muscles in her legs screaming from the strain. Her arms simply weren't strong enough to take down those mud creatures, so she had to settle for delivering powerful kicks to send them crumbling back into the earth. She was completely exhausted.

"Enough with this charade." Aizawa called everyone's attention back. Midoriya was still reeling from the blow that that small child, Kota, had delivered swiftly into his crotch, as everyone else was in a state of disarray. "Get your stuff off the bus. Once you've put your bags in your rooms, we'll have dinner in the cafeteria. After that, you'll bathe and go to sleep. We'll start for real tomorrow." Rei sighed in relief even as everyone else groaned from Aizawa's message, but she was relishing in the first bit of good news. As long as she was guaranteed a bath some time soon, she could suffer through the rest of the abuse.

Moving as a horde of hungry and grumpy students, Class 1-A slowly made their way to the bus and began pulling their belongings off, sorting through the messes and working together to pass around their luggage. Rei walked onto the bus first, determined to get her backpack off before struggling with everyone else to get their luggage from underneath. To her surprise Bakugou followed closely behind her, the two of them moving in silence as they boarded the bus and moved toward their seats.

No one had followed them on, most of them too tired to make the mental connection to retrieve their belongings from the top as well. The air was stuffy and warm, a side effect of the bus being turned off for so many hours in the summer heat. Rei moved as quickly as she could, even though it felt like she was dragging her limbs through jello. Reaching up to the upper compartment, she frowned as her fingers barely grazed the latch, growling under her breath from her failure. She dropped her hands to her sides, settling on glaring upward for a moment in distaste. She had forgotten that she had Shoji help her place her bag in the storage, her measly height nowhere near enough to access. Just about to stand on the chair and balance herself, a new hand reached up with ease to open the compartment, pulling out her backpack and handing it down to her.

Gold eyes met red once again, and Rei felt her heart flutter. They were both exhausted, but he still looked at her gently, not seeming bothered at the fact that he had gone out of his way to help her. Swallowing hard, she held the bag to her chest. "How are your arms?"

He scoffed, though it wasn't at her. Lifting his right hand up, he flexed his hands, clenching and opening his fists. "Fine. Stiff."

"I'll massage them out after dinner, if you want?"

Grunting in assent, he turned his back toward her. "This bus is too damn hot. Let's go."

She couldn't disagree with that, the air seeming to get more humid the more they lingered in the stale space. By the time they disembarked the air outside felt cool compared to the stifling interior, Rei inhaling deeply and greedily sucking down breath after breath. Now that most everyone's luggage had been sorted out the other students seemed to remember that they still had belongings on the bus, making their way into the crammed space. It was easy to find her duffle now, a nondescript black bag that stood out now that everyone else's bags had been cleared away. The first two ready to depart, Bakugou and Rei made their way into the camp, following the directions and eventually parting to take their bags into their separate rooms.

Nothing had changed, at least on the surface level. But she could see the softness in his eyes now as she was growing accustomed to reading the messages within that he would send when others were around.

It was exactly her hope, and though there was hard work ahead, Rei couldn't help but feel satisfied.

Being the first girl in the girls' room, Rei had first pick of where she wanted to sleep. Lining herself up next to the window, she lugged a futon over to her luggage and began setting herself up, trying to be careful to not touch the clean sheets too much since she was still filthy. Slowly the other girls began to pour in, chattering away now that the day's trial was over and a meal was closing in on them soon. They all gravitated toward Rei, setting up their beds around her, Yaoyorozu pulling up right next to her.

"This is so exciting!"

"Too bad we're not with the Class 1-B girls…"

It was inevitable that Hagakure would come up with a new idea. "Hey, we should have girl talk tonight after the baths!"

"Oh, that sounds fun!" Jirou had a grin on her face. She had set up at Rei's head, the two of them separated by their bags but putting their pillows toward one another. "But honestly, I'm ready for dinner."

"Everyone, are we ready?" Yaoyorozu called out to the girls, everyone chiming in assent. They moved as a group, temporarily forgetting their new room and belongings as they marched out together toward the cafeteria. The last ones to arrive, they scattered a bit to find open seats. Rei snuck off and sat in a spot between Midoriya and Bakugou, the two of them looking at her in surprise but neither seeming to disagree. Now that there was someone in between them, Rei acted as a physical barrier to put a temporary peace between the two boys' competitive nature.

"Ah, Akatsuki-san!" Midoriya brightened at Rei's appearance, drawing her attention as she blinked owlishly at him. "I feel like we haven't talked with one another in a while."

"Ah. Sorry."

He waved his hands in front of him. "No, it's not a problem!" An idea crossed his mind, though the smile never left his face. "Now that I think about it, I never got to ask about your final exam."

Before Rei could even respond, trays of food began to rapidly appear in front of them, Mandalay and Pixie Bob running around quickly as the students began to dig in. Momentarily distracted, the two of them began to pick at the food and add to their plates, Rei eventually picking up her rice bowl and digging in energetically. Conversation could come later. Food was first. The first bit of rice and katsu seemed to melt in her mouth as she chewed quickly, too hungry to find time to savor for now. Even as she managed to restrain herself a bit, almost everyone else seemed to dig in rather energetically, scarfing down food like ravenous wolves. Trays of various meats and vegetables made their way around, along with miso soup and more rice.

It was a wonderland, after the physically intensive day that they had gone through.

Midoriya picked the conversation back up after a minute, speaking through his chews, although carefully. "You were up against Black Panther, right?"

The conversation moved back towards Rei's final exam. Of course Midoriya wouldn't have seen it; he had been out of commission from his practical portion. She was transported back into the moment where she had stood outside of the gates of Field Gamma, Present Mic's voice yelling last minute directions concerning who she could call upon for her test. She could remember the distinct feeling of dread and horror when she had found out that both Midoriya and Bakugou had been down and out for the count, the feeling so visceral that it made her pause in her eating, swallowing hard. "Yeah. I was at his agency for the internships."

"Oh, that's right, huh?" Midoriya paused to shove another bite of food in his mouth, words muffled as he spoke through his chews. "Dat musta've been hard."

"Mm." Sipping her soup, Rei looked over to the boy next to her. "He doesn't pull punches. Especially during that test. It was… personal."

"I see." Swallowing a mouthful of food, Midoriya looked excitedly to Rei, eyes sparkling in anticipation. "So, what kinds of strategies did you use? Black Panther was an undercover agent that works to bust drug and trafficking rings, so he has to be stealthy, but he's also physically powerful. His quirk-"

"Oi, shut your mouth and let her do the talking, if you want answers."

Bakugou was clearly in a foul mood, but his voice was lowly instead of shouting above the din of the mess hall. Cut off mid sentence, Midoriya looked more surprised at Bakugou's interjection than he was at being cut off, but Rei simply shook her head, taking the lead. "It's fine. Our quirks are actually fairly similar in nature."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Mm." Chewing thoughtfully, Rei finally swallowed her bite down with a gulp of tea, wincing as the hot liquid seared her palate. "That's what made my test so difficult. He's basically a better, stronger, and faster version of myself."

"So, how did you win?"

It felt strange to be talking about herself so much, but Rei couldn't help but give as much information as she could to the green haired boy sitting next to her. He watched and listened to her attentively, soaking in every word as the two ate slowly, Rei trying to balance between talking and divulging what she could while trying to be at least slightly polite. She knew that he would be taking mental notes furiously, committing them to memory until he could write them down later. It was the best time to be doing so; who knew exactly how much free time they would have during this camping trip?

If Rei had to take a guess, it would be next to none. U.A. had a tendency to push the students to their limits. Free time meant time that could be used to get better and increase proficiency as a future hero, and thus was meant to be spent accordingly.

As she continued to talk with Midoriya and answer questions he had about her exam, she began to notice that the boy on the other side of her was listening in as well. He was quietly eating his food, but she had caught his expression morphing to react to some of the things that she had said, noting his attention to her story. He never asked questions, and barely made some scathing comments from time to time or snorted or chortled in dry amusement, but he was engaged, quiet as he was on the side lines. It was… comforting, and comfortable. Part of her knew that he was taking mental notes just like Midoriya was, being the strategist he was at heart. But another piece of her fluttered at the attention, when he clearly had options to talk with anyone else.

Well, if he had a conversation with anyone else, he would most likely have a yelling match with Kirishima about something strange, or just overall yelling at the boys for whatever reason.

The rest of dinner passed without much trouble. With stuffed stomachs the class began to split off to head to take a bath before passing out for the night, knowing that a long day was ahead of them after a short sleep. Rei rejoined the girls as they gathered their pajamas and toiletries before heading out to the baths, the girls chattering away as they did so.

For some reason, Rei felt unsettled. Nothing dangerous, but something was… off.

She would figure out what it was soon enough.

* * *

Clearly, she had forgotten about Mineta.

So had the rest of the girls.

But as soon as all seven girls had found out that the baths had outdoor hot springs they all had bolted for the entrance. If Iida was there, he most certainly would have yelled at them for running along a poolside where there was a risk of falling, and even Yaoyorozu was careful, one of the last alongside Rei to hop into the pools, but there was no need for concern here. The group was only wet in some spots where the 1-B girls had walked back and forth, and they were easy to distinguish on the ground.

Heaven. Sliding into the hot spring with a sigh, Rei leaned up against one of the walls, tilting her head back on the edge. Yaoyorozu handed her a cool cloth to line her forehead, Rei accepting gratefully with a small smile. "Thanks."

"Oh! I need one of those!"

"This feels amazing!"

"I love that there are hot springs here."

Rei grinned, sharing a look with Jirou. "It'll be rewarding, once we start training tomorrow."

"Ahh, but today was already hard!" Uraraka puffed her cheeks out as she tied her hair back as best as possible, eventually accepting a headband from Yaoyorozu with a grin and a cheer. "I can't believe we missed lunch."

As the girls began to delve into the play by play of the morning and afternoon's activities inside the forest of beasts, Rei began to let her mind wander. Something was unsettling her, her sixth sense going off in warning. It hadn't ever really stopped, and though she could tell that it wasn't something critical it was rather annoying.

That was when she heard it.

It was Iida's voice in the distance, and while the other girls couldn't hear it because of their conversation Rei's sharp ears could pick up the sounds. "Mineta-kun, stop it! What you are doing is both demeaning for yourself and for the girls! It is shameful!"

Oh.

Rei's mind was quick to piece together the pieces. She jumped out of the pool, quickly grabbing two towels to cover herself and making a makeshift toga and section to cover her privates in order to provide some modesty over the things that could be revealed in the process of what she was about to do. "Everyone, cover yourself!"

The girls looked startled as they watched with wide eyes at Rei's sudden jump to action, trained on how swiftly and how creatively she created a makeshift outfit in a matter of seconds, but Mineta's cry was loud enough to break them from their stupor.

"Walls… are meant to be overcome! Plus ultra!"

Giving one last tug to ensure that the robe wouldn't come undone, Rei's face morphed into a scowl as the girls began to cry out in panic, knowing what was coming. Launching herself at the wall she equally began to scramble up the large posts, digging her claws into the structure apologetically. On the other side she could sense Mineta climbing at a similar pace, though albeit less quickly than she, though it wouldn't be for long if she hesitated.

Scaling the structure with ease she popped her head over the ledge first, watching with dark satisfaction as Mineta's face appeared and met her own. She had beaten him to the punch, and he could see that his classmate was less than pleased at his dishonorable actions. The horror froze him in place as she snarled, teeth bared as she hissed over at him in displeasure. "If you go plus ultra, then so will I!"

Pivoting over the top, Rei stood on the thin walkway and turned over her shoulder, delivering a roundhouse kick that Mineta was too shocked to counter. She planted her foot into his face with relatively quick speed, sending him flying back over the edge and back down into the boy's side. With a cry he plummeted down, splashing back into the springs as Rei glowered. She could hear the boys' astonishment, knowing that they could see her foot over the edge.

"I'm dressed, and I'll kick anyone's ass who dares to try some shit like that again!"

The deadliness mixed with pure, unadulterated rage in her voice was enough to silence everyone on the boys' side, not a sound except for that of water and Mineta's sputtering to be heard. Her voice had been thickly coated with danger, the most angry and serious anyone had ever heard her be in quite a while now. The girls back at the bottom began to cheer, chanting her name as they looked up at their heroine high above. Finally confident that no one would dare to try a feat like that again, Rei stood up straight, facing the girl's side before jumping back down into the springs.

The night saved, the girls relaxed once again to have a bit of fun. The only downside that thankfully no one really saw was that Rei had missed her landing. She clipped the side of the barrier on her way back down, the wooden fence snagging on a piece of her towel and changing her momentum as she unceremoniously fell to the ground. Landing on her back wasn't fun, though she had managed to keep her groan to herself and hobble her way back to the springs and slip in before anyone could notice anything. It was more of a shock than anything, and the bruise would quickly heal, but her muscles would be screaming.

Ouch.

That wouldn't be fun for training the next day.

Doing her best to swallow the pain from the fall and how much her back muscles were screaming, especially upon seeing how happy the girls were that Rei had saved the night, she rejoined the group as though nothing happened. For the most part, nothing else did happen from then on. There had been some other commotion on the boy's side later on, but nothing that had concerned the girls. Happy, warm, and exhausted, they eventually dragged themselves out of the springs and on toward their room.

But Rei had other plans. After brushing her teeth and changing into a pair of leggings and a tank top, Rei grabbed her phone from the room and snuck out before anyone could notice her.

**Akatsuki Rei** **(8:45 PM)  
**_Meet you out front? _

The response was almost instantaneous, putting a grin on Rei's face as she made her way to the front of the dorm and camping building. Various students from both classes were milling about on their own business, no one really paying any attention to the black haired girl as she snuck out the front of the building and sat on the front steps.

**Bakagou Katsuki (8:46 PM)  
**_Hurry up_

Not long after, Bakugou made his appearance as he slid through a crack in the door and quickly shut it behind him. Tilting her head backward, Rei smiled at him, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Hey."

He grunted as he sat down. "Hey yourself." Immediately he shoved his left arm into her lap, earning a pointed glare from Rei as golden eyes narrowed sharply in his direction.

"Oi, I'm not a servant!"

"Keep your voice down!" The only response he got was finger digging painfully into his arms as he hissed, turning his glare toward Rei. The two of them stared one another down, all motions halting for a moment as they dared the other to break away.

It was good to know that they were still as childish as always.

Eventually it was Bakugou who broke away, muttering something about how stubborn Rei was as he looked out toward the forest. With a triumphant grin on her face Rei began to analyze his arms, delicately prodding this time as she quickly assessed where he was after the long afternoon. Eventually her lithe fingers began pressing down with a moderate pressure, rubbing up and down as they massaged the knots out, being careful to not dig too deeply. His arms weren't quite as overexerted as they had been during the sports festival or after the final exams, but they were still fairly battered. Still, it wasn't anything that a good night's rest wouldn't solve for the most part.

Upon completion, Rei stretched her arms up lazily, wiggling her fingers to relax them from their hard work. She winced, forgetting just how tense she was from her fall in the baths, back muscles still tense. She was certain that the bruising was almost gone, but the muscles in her back still hurt, cramped up and terse.

"What's that look for?"

Blinking, golden eyes turned toward her companion. The look on his face was reminiscent of concern, making Rei shrug her shoulders. "I fell after knocking Mineta back down. My back muscles are still tense."

He moved instantly, shifting to sit behind her on the steps and placing his legs on either side of her. Rei looked back at him nervously, but immediately relaxed as soon as his hands began working away at her back, looking forward so as to not strain her neck any further. Strange. She never would have imagined that he would be a good masseuse, but his hands and fingers were strong from training, digging into her back much like she imagined her fingers dug into his arms. With a sigh she tried to refrain from slouching or wincing whenever he dug into a particularly painful part, but there were occasions where she couldn't help the grunt of pain every so often.

But by the time he finished Rei couldn't help but admit that she was already feeling better. Shifting to sit back down next to her, Bakugou skirted around her figure and settled down, hands in his lap. Rei rolled her shoulders, stretching her arms and back out before grinning widely at Bakugou. "Thanks."

All she received was a grunt in response, but it was enough. For a while the two simply sat in companionable silence, looking out at the forest beyond. The night sky above twinkled with a thousand glittering stars, devoid of the haze that city life brought and revealing a canopy of twinkling lights that shone even from billions of years away. Trees rustling in the background, a soft wind blew through the camp grounds, as soft as a sigh and barely enough to rustle their hair.

Peace. Rei's heart was finally at rest.

Eventually Rei's phone buzzed, a text from Yaoyorozu coming in and asking her where she was. Tucking the phone into her pocket without responding, Rei stood up, earning Bakugou's attention.

"Yaoyorozu's asking where I am."

He only nodded once, instinctively understanding what was implied. Rei hesitated for a moment, simply looking down at him before licking her lips nervously.

"Good night." She paused. "Katsuki."

"Night."

Sneaking back into the building, Rei opened the door a crack before sliding through. So focused on her stealthy reentry, she nearly missed the way Bakugou whispered her name, almost as an afterthought. Her heart stuttered, making her pause for a moment as she relished the sound before making her way back inside.

It was enough for now.

* * *

AN: I have a lot to say in this AN, so I apologize ahead of time.

**Holy hell. We're getting there, folks.** Honestly, I wasn't going to add that bit after the pool episode, but it just... worked. Writing this chapter was such a nightmare. Originally I was just going to skip from the last chapter straight to the training camp, but I ended up readding the pool episode (I wrote it, but then I took it out). Somehow, it just felt right to add back in, but damn, I wasn't thinking about Rei finally confessing her feelings! But okay! I can work with this!

Honestly, now this makes future edits a little easier going forward. Also makes some later events easier for me to write.

I mentioned a while ago that I was stuck on chapter 31. The good news is that chapter 31 is finally completed, and I'm concurrently working on 32 and 33. Additionally, I've also been working on that AU that I mentioned a while ago; I've decided to add it after chapter 33 some time, since we're going to need some fluffy stuff later. On another note, I've also started a second AU which is also fun, so that might get inserted earlier? Who knows.

**I'm exhausted, and I need a break. **I'm seriously burning out life wise, and I've decided to take a break on writing for at least another week. When I say break, I mean that I'm not sitting down and chunking out 11k+ chapters in one sitting. I'm still writing bits and pieces (this chapter only released on time because I forced myself to write at least 100 words per day in order to reach my goals), but it's not going to be as intensive for a while now. The good news is that I'm still sitting pretty on a pile of chapters that have been prewritten, so don't worry about being devoid of content for a while.

One last thought. I mentioned this at the beginning of the story. When I started this story, I wrote 23 chapters in the span on one month. Today we officially move to the twenty-fourth chapter. Here's to growing and improving, and to the creation of a story which has surpassed my greatest expectations. There's a lot to edit and check, but I never imagined that more than a dozen people would read this story, let alone review, favorite, and follow. Thank you everyone so, so, so much. Seriously. I cannot thank you all enough.

[on a small side note, just thinking about going back and editing from the first chapter is already making me apprehensive... Lord help me get back on my bullshit]

**Reviews! Beautiful, sweet, reviews. **

**chibi-no-baka**: Hahaha, honestly, idk when they'll kiss? I'm terrible at writing romance. Eventually though, I promise! Please don't hate me for dragging things out T_T

**Blackenflames**: At some point, I think the class is gonna figure it out. That's definitely going to be a moment that I write about! Imagining everyone's reactions is too good.

**CocoaFirefly**: Thank you! I am doing my best to make sure that the characters stay as true to themselves as possible. It's kind of hard to figure out just how soft Bakugou can go, but it's like... kneading dough? My dough-y boy... I'm laughing to myself now, because I'm thinking of that time he was turned into a nugget. I can't.

**yaoi4adollar**: Yay! Many cute things to come! I hope this was a cute chapter as well. Unfortunately, things probably won't be so cute from here on out...

**XSophophobiaX**: Sorry that the I-Island chapters won't be coming out for a little while! To be honest I had plans to include them, but I got stuck in a writer's block and the only way I got around it was by removing the I-Island chapters. They'll probably be 3-4 chapters when they do come out, and I do have plans to eventually finish them, so I hope to release them in the future! Stay tuned :D

**Waterdragon1123**: Bless up for the GrumpyCat ship :D

**Anseo**: Aaaahh I'm so glad you look forward to these updates! I do try and keep them consistent now; I seriously wasn't feeling like finishing this chapter but I did feel motivated to post by tomorrow (I upload these chapters on Friday nights so I can upload Saturday morning before class for me). I hope you're excited to see what happens in the training camp arc! Hopefully not too angry either... Hahaha

**Dear Apollo**: Thank you! I'm so glad this makes you happy. Hopefully this chapter made you happy as well! Cute fluff.

**dragontamer64**: Hope you are doing okay! Take care of yourself. I hope life is treating you well!

**Have questions? Comments? Artwork? **

**Leave a review or send me a message!**

**I will be taking a small writing break, but I will continue to update as regularly as possible. **

**Thank you all!**

**Get ready for the pain!**


	25. Training Camp (Part 1)

Chapter 25

Training Camp (Part 1)

* * *

The morning started brutally at five in the morning, with the sun not even coming over the high crests of the mountains in the distance. The sky was painted with purples and blues, serene hues that spoke of slumber and whimsical dreams that danced around in enraptured heads.

Such dreams did not include those of Class 1-A.

The girls managed to haul themselves out to the front of the building after Mandalay had shaken them awake, with everyone meeting outside the dorm building by five thirty. Yaoyorozu had interwoven her arm with Rei, keeping the latter upright as she blinked blearily, trying to pull herself awake.

She definitely wouldn't engage in girl talk tonight if it meant losing out on precious hours of sleep again.

But the longer she stood upright and focused on her breathing, the more alive she began to feel. Frowning and crinkling her nose, Rei yawned, patting Yaoyorozu's hand with one of her own. "Thanks, Momo. I'm good now."

"Are you certain?" Her friend didn't seem to believe her, and for good reason. As soon as their class had assembled in front of the main building, Rei closed her eyes and nearly fallen over to the side, and if it weren't for Momo's quick thinking she most certainly would have smacked her face into the ground or stumbled in a painful and awkward manner. It was obvious that she wasn't a morning person, and her friend had seen to it that at least she wouldn't get left behind or caught unawares by their homeroom teacher, just in case he asked anything. Aizawa wouldn't tolerate anything less than their best, and it stood to reason that he wouldn't care if they were exhausted, and would probably pick on them more if he saw them slouching or less than prepared.

But now that she was standing Rei was beginning to wake her blood up, thoughts clearing as her mind became sharper, the cat girl starting to do calf raises in an effort to get the blood flowing even faster. Nodding her head, she smiled at Momo, rolling her shoulders and stretching her arms after the class vice president relinquished her hold. Rolling her neck and hopping up and down, Rei forced herself away from her friend so as to not accidentally smack her or step on her feet. "Yeah, I'm good now. Just took a little while."

At least Momo wasn't invincible either, the girl hiding a yawn behind her own hand as she nodded. No one had been prepared for the five o'clock wake up call. They would know better than to stay up talking tonight, or lounging too long in the baths before bed.

"Good morning, everyone."

Aizawa had appeared in front of everyone, looking rather… well, himself as usual. Was he simply so sleep deprived that nothing bothered him anymore? Regardless, he looked to be one of the most awake in the group, and for good reason. With his hands in his pockets, he looked at each individual, assessing their status and making sure that he had everyone's attention before speaking again. "Today, we will begin training camp to increase your strength in earnest."

Rei's nose crinkled, as she looked to the side, muttering to herself. "Yesterday wasn't earnest?"

If he heard her comment, he ignored Rei entirely. "The goal of this camp is to increase everyone's strength, and with that, for everyone to obtain their provisional licenses. It is to prepare you all for the hostilities that are becoming more real by the minute. Proceed carefully."

_Provisional licenses? _That was right, that had been a question on the final exam, concerning laws and statutes regarding heroes. Anyone in a hero program could attain a provisional license before completing their cohesive certification in order to act independently and have full rights as a hero during times of crisis and disaster. But that was strange; Rei didn't remember seeing anywhere in those laws how old one had to be, or how many years they had to complete of high school or any other requirements. It was possible that she had just forgotten them after cramming for the test, but for once she didn't think that that was the case.

Was it common for first years to get their provisional license? Especially after only one term; that didn't seem very logical. With such little training they were prone to forgetting mistakes or not having them instilled in them quite like higher years. Perhaps she would have to ask Midoriya about that later. He would certainly know the answer to that.

"So, Bakugou." The class stood up, alert as Aizawa tossed a familiar round object to the boy in question. Everyone peered around at Bakugou without trying to be too nosy or get into his business. "Try throwing that."

Near the back of the group, Rei walked forward to get a closer look. She could hear Aizawa mentioning something to Bakugou about his previous score at the beginning of the school year.

_Oh._ As soon as she saw him tossing the ball up and down in an experimental manner, she understood. The fitness test. Mina and Sero were the first ones to explicitly make comments about it as Bakugou stepped away from the group and into the clearing, rolling his shoulders and warming up as quickly and thoroughly as possible. Rei crossed her arms over her chest. She had almost forgotten about the fitness test at the beginning of the year. Hadn't she placed fifth or something? A part of her was curious to see how much they had improved. Surely Bakugou-

"GO TO HELL!"

Wincing at the noise, Rei peered through lidded eyes as she tried to track the ball as best as possible without having to completely shut her eyes from the gusts of wind that had picked up from the explosion. It was difficult as it hurtled through the air quickly, launching high into the sky before finally slowing down and beginning its descent back toward the earth. From what she could tell, it had been a fairly precise throw. The angle and trajectory were decent, neither too high nor too shallow to the ground. If he had truly improved, then they would see how far it had gone this time.

"Seven hundred nine point six meters."

The class turned and began to mutter in confusion, sounds of surprise coming from those that had been closest to the front in particular. Rei pushed forward to the front, standing near Midoriya toward the side and leaning over toward him. Her arm brushed against him, making him jolt in surprise at not having noticed the girl's approach, but he leaned over anyway as Rei lifted her head toward his ear.

"What was his old record?"

Midoriya's eyes shifted up for a moment to look at Bakugou, as though checking that the boy wouldn't hear him. "Seven hundred and five, I believe is what Aizawa-sensei said."

Two eyebrows skyrocketed on her face. Astonished, she blinked at Midoriya. "That little?"

"Shh!" He looked about frantically, relieved that Bakugou hadn't heard. "Don't let him hear!"

Rei only shrugged her shoulders. "If he wants to fight, I can take him on."

"Still…"

"It's been about three months since you've started high school." Aizawa took center stage once more, the group frozen with varying looks of surprise on their faces. His voice was quiet and dangerous, but everyone could hear every word. "Through various experiences, you all have definitely improved. But that improvement has mainly been at the mental and technical level, with some increase in stamina."

Pacing in front of the class, a dangerous gleam suddenly came into his eyes. Rei shuddered involuntarily, knowing that what awaited them during the day would certainly be a living hell if this test was anything to go by. "As you can see, your quirks themselves have not improved much. That is why we will work on improving your quirks starting today."

Midoriya startled, back straightening as an idea flooded through him. Rei looked at him curiously for a moment before her eyes returned to their teacher. She almost wished she hadn't, what with the nightmarish look that he wore on his face.

A smile on Aizawa never meant anything pleasant.

"It'll be so hard you'll feel like dying, but try not to actually die."

"Allllright!"

Rei immediately stiffened as she felt a hand snake up her back and loop around her upper arm, pulling her into someone new. Turning her head ever so slightly to the left, she relaxed marginally when she realized it was only Pixie Bob, the blue eyes woman looking hungrily between her and Midoriya. It was then that Rei realized that her classmate was in a similar situation, Pixie Bob positioning herself between the two as she cooed at them. "Looks like it's our time to step in, isn't it?"

She could have sworn that she saw the woman wink at her, but she didn't have time to react as the woman immediately pulled away, rejoining the rest of her team at the front of the class.

"Wild, Wild, Pussycats!"

"We're here to help monitor your progress and make sure you're getting ground into the dust!"

Rei felt slightly nauseous at Pixie Bob's sadistic comment, but she managed to repress the shudder that threatened to go down her spine for the third time in the morning.

Tiger was the first one to move, pointing at certain people in the group. "Those with power up types, come with me!" He gave no time for them to waste, immediately turning around and walking down a path that led deeper into the forest. Rei knew that they were all going to go into the forest for training, but beyond that she had no idea what awaited them. With a small nod of encouragement to Midoriya, who looked rather nauseous and nervous to be following after the most intimidating pro hero, she watched as a small group followed along.

"Alright, listen up." Aizawa took the lead again for the rest of the group, pushing out directions immediately. "We've decided how to split you up and best train you, specific to your quirks. Listen up for your instructions, and get going as soon as you know them."

"Uraraka and Akatsuki." The two girls perked up at their names, Uraraka in particular looking more awake. "You'll be working with Pixie Bob. See her for further details." He gave no time for them to ask questions, immediately looking for Yaoyorozu and Sado and moving along. Wasting no time, Rei and Uraraka likewise turned toward the woman dressed in blue.

"So, you're Uraraka."

"Uh," the gravity girl stuttered, suddenly quite awake. "Yes. That's me."

"Great!" She pointed to the side of the forest, where a massive plastic ball was waiting. Rei was shocked that she hadn't seen it before, and yet she had a very good idea where this was going. "Can you get inside that please?"

"Uh, yes! Okay." Uraraka moved quickly, trying to appease the woman as she climbed into the massive plastic hamster ball. Pixie Bob then sealed the exit, much to Uraraka and Rei's dread. "Huh?"

"Alright! All you have to do is go with the flow and not get sick!"

"W-wait a seco-"

"Here we go!"

With a screech Uraraka was sent flying into the air and over the trees, launched by a sudden surge of the earth as it rose with horrifying ease and fluidity before sinking back down and hardening. Rei's own gut rose in her torso as pity went out to her classmate, feeling sick without having the misfortune of being subjected to such torture.

Poor Uraraka. Of all the people in their class, she and probably Aoyama would have it the worst, what with their quirks making their stomachs quite literally sick.

It was only inevitable that Pixie Bob then turned back to Rei, a grin on her face. "So, you're Akatsuki, aren't you? You're that fabulous fighter from yesterday's exercise."

"Uh, yes ma'am." A dangerous glint came to Pixie Bob's face, and Rei realized her mistake, one that Midoriya had already made multiple times. "I mean, miss!"

The look on her face softened in acceptance as she began to circle Rei, looking over every aspect of her. Folding her arms over her chest again in self consciousness, Rei looked to the pro hero. "Ah, so, what will my training be?"

"Akatsuki Rei. The quirk Nine Lives grants you cat like reflexes, such as high jumping, the ability to fall from great heights, as well as retractable claws." If she had any thought that Pixie Bob had been flirting with her earlier, it was now gone. The woman cut straight to business, analyzing her quirk and repeating most likely everything that she had learned from Aizawa. With a scrutinous glance she took everything about Rei in, as though still trying to determine what sort of torture she would subject the young high school student to.

"Passive abilities include heightened hearing and sense of smell, as well as sight in low light environments. Additionally, regenerative properties allow you to heal at a rapid pace."

It felt strange for someone to essentially tell Rei everything she knew about herself. It was so cold cut and upfront, almost foreign to hear it back. But she nodded solemnly, hands dropping to her sides. "That's right."

"Alright."

Rei blinked. "Sorry?"

The blonde woman extended her paw out to Rei, who looked on in uncertainty before realizing that she was supposed to take the items in her hand. Four slender bands the size of bracelets were passed over, and Rei was surprised to feel how heavy they were, their size and delicate appearance deceiving her for a moment. Pixie Bob continued, pointing to Rei's wrists and ankles. "One pound weights for your arms, two pound weights for each ankle. We'll be starting light today, but we'll be increasing the weight as we go along. You'll keep them on for the rest of camp, even after day training, so that you can get used to them."

It was surprisingly obvious and intuitive, but Rei was caught off guard. The thought had occasionally passed through her mind about using weights in training, but she had never really looked further into them or taken the initiative. They would certain help her build up strength even faster and push her quirk to her limit at a speedier pace. Locking the clasps into place on each bangle, she stood up to her full height, shaking her legs and arms out and testing how heavy they were. The difference was barely noticeable, but Rei knew better than to make mention of it. She would be feeling it soon enough.

"You'll start with a five kilometer run out into the forest. The only rule is that you can't touch the ground. Trees, rocks, plants, whatever it takes."

"In which direction?"

"Whatever you'd like."

Golden eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's the catch?"

Pixie Bob was almost purring in satisfaction as she peered down at Rei. "Smart girl," she cooed, bending over slightly. "Once you get out there, make it back by lunch to the clearing that's a few kilometers north of here. Mandalay will direct you if you get too off course. I'll be watching you!"

Fool her once, shame on her. Fool her twice…

"This is going to be like yesterday, isn't it?"

The glint in those blue eyes told Rei she had hit the nail on the head.

"Why don't you find out?" Pixie Bob laughed, tossing her head back. "The clock's ticking."

The clearing was almost empty, with most of the groups heading down the main path and talking with one another as they headed out to a clearing that had been designated for training. With a plan forming in her head, Rei took a quick survey around the current clearing before dashing off in a new direction, heading out deeper into the forest. Some of her classmates called her name as they watched her bolt through the space and leap into the trees, flying into the wilderness as they stared after her, bewildered at her speed and precision.

Rei paid no mind to them. It was best to separate from the rest of the group as quickly as possible, putting as much distance between her and the others as she could. In almost any other situation she would have gone with her class; at least her path back would be peppered with allies that could potentially help her.

But that was not the reason for this training. This was something for her and her alone, created so that she could push her own limits and overcome the challenges that she faced. No assistance, no competition, other than the competition she gave herself. Flying through the emerald foliage she pushed herself as hard as she could, making record time while speeding through the treetops and carefully watching her landings.

Stamina and strength. She knew that this training was going to be harder than most of the others. Because she regenerated and healed faster, she required less sitting down time, less time to catch her breath and let her muscles stretch out and heal. Pixie Bob would surely know this and push her to her absolute limit. It would be training with Chirasaki on steroids, a beefed out version of their gauntlet in a high urban environment now changed to become that of the wilderness and countryside.

Aizawa had said that they would feel like dying. Rei already knew what that felt like on a very literal level. But this would be different, and with a maniacal grin on her face she darted off, ready to face what was coming.

* * *

The sun had already risen in the sky by the time Class 1-B joined up with 1-A, dispersing to their respective areas and beginning their intensive training. Aizawa walked around, observing his students and watching as they slaved away.

Indeed, everyone was taking this seriously. He could already see the exhaustion on some of their faces, such as Todoroki. The boy had some serious catching up to do now that he was using both sides of his quirk, his control over fire severely lacking in contrast to the ice. When the day came where he could demonstrate not just a proficiency over both, but a mastery, would be a fearsome day indeed. But still, they all were fledgelings, beginning to spread their wings.

Tenacity was appreciated, but it was their raw power and talent that kept them in this school, specifically in Aizawa's class. Midoriya as well was beginning to show promise, but he still had quite a ways to go, especially seeing as how his path just got rockier with his limited use of his arms. Aizawa had been alerted of the doctor's diagnosis back after the Hosu City incident, keeping the green boy's handicap in the back of his mind. Reckless, the fool. But beggars couldn't be choosers. If Midoriya wanted to remain on this path, then he would have to prove it.

As he watched over those within his view, his mind trailed to the others that he couldn't see. Most of them were gunning to be heroes, to be crowned in the spotlight. It would be a lie that ever since the sports festival in particular, the students hadn't considered popularity and the condition of heroes in mainstream culture. But there were a few who didn't seem too concerned with that, or who had very specific ideas of what they wanted to do, out of the spotlight.

One person stood out in particular.

When Aizawa had received his roster of students for the year, he had been surprised to see Akatsuki Rei's statistics and application. Everything about her was strange; she had come from a low achieving school, doing average on the written portion of U.A.'s exam, with no family to speak of. Low support outside of the classroom traditionally led to drop outs, not individuals who sought a place at some of the highest ranked high schools and universities in the country. It didn't help that her track record wasn't blameless. To top things off, her quirk was average, nothing spectacular to brag about. Having slight powerups in a range of categories was beneficial, but tended not to stand out against other, more ostentatious and specific quirks.

Sometimes, it was better to have a master of one than a jack of all trades. When it came to the popularity contest that was hero culture these days, having a flashy and hyperspecified quirk tended to make one outstanding if by name alone. But additionally, having a wide variety of specialties led to mediocrity in each area, rather than an intricate knowledge of what one did best and a comprehensive understanding of how to not just survive but thrive.

But it was Rei's practical portion that had Aizawa's eyebrows lifting in surprise. Second place. It was rare for girls to score higher on the boys, mostly because of the physical component that was required for high achievement. Most of the girls tended to have higher rescue points that counteracted the other category and balanced out their overall score, generally able to be more empathetic in action and think of others rather than one singular goal.

Akatsuki Rei had one of the highest villain point categories out of anyone. Sure, it hadn't been as high as Bakugou, but it was noteworthy and worth highlighting. She proved herself to be tenacious and vicious when it came to combat, something that he noticed when he rewatched the tapes of the exam. She had saved Kaminari, but had also immediately turned on the zero point villain in order to distract it from tormenting the other test takers in the arena. And more than that, she did real damage. Her claws, though hidden away, were sharper than steel cutting through hot metal beams.

She was a fighter. He had wondered just what brought her to U.A., why she had wanted to become a hero. She was standoffish, separating herself from the others almost from the beginning. He should have known that it was a wall that she had put up on her own.

Then came the day when they had chosen their hero names. No one had been able to see it, since he had been stowed away in his yellow sleeping back and facing the wall while lying on the floor, but he had snapped awake upon hearing her declare her intentions for her career. Not a flashy hero, not a rescue worker per say.

He should have known, from the first day, that she wanted to return to the underground on the other side, to become the hero everyone had told her that she couldn't be.

Few people ever thought about the behind the scenes work, the dirty world that existed under each civilian's feet. It was what Aizawa had thrived in, due to the nature of his quirk. And knowing what he knew, Akatsuki Rei was a perfect fit.

It was why he had told her about the scholarship application after she had admitted financial need. She wasn't perfect, but she had the talent, the skills, the drive. U.A., and Class 1-A, would be a decidedly lesser place if she had dropped out. Even if she had started as the loner, she had become one of the keystone pieces. The others were beginning to depend on her for her insights, considering her a part of their team before she had even realized she was on a team.

Aizawa rarely invested in students. But there was something about Akatsuki Rei that made him reminisce and think about the past, the present, and the future.

It was also why he had detailed a particularly brutal plan for her during this training camp. She had to be ready for the world ahead, for the difficulty. She needed to find it in herself to create the power to pull herself back up when no one else was around. It was a critical skill that would be desperately needed, should she choose to go into the field of infiltration and undercover work. She would be alone, and she would need to understand her own strength and turn the odds back on its head at times.

She would need to be superhuman, defying all odds to survive.

If Akatsuki Rei survived this camping trip, then she just might have the ingredients to surviving the field.

* * *

The run hadn't taken too long. By the time thirty minutes had passed Rei had almost made it to what she estimated was about five kilometers away from her starting point. She had done well to control her breathing, focusing on her landings and keeping things light but fast. The deeper she had gone into the forest, the easier it had become; the trees were larger, older in this place, their boughs wide and seemingly made for her to use as a path. It compensated for the fact that she was beginning to feel a slight burn in her legs from the weights, which had made her focus even harder on softening her landings. At times it felt like she was starting from the beginning all over again with Chirasaki, having to put so much emphasis on quiet and soft landings without shattering her surroundings, but it wasn't anything terribly arduous. In fact it was almost pleasant, but she knew thinking such thoughts was dangerous.

She had to remain on task, stay focused. Nothing about this trip would be pleasant, that much she knew. Serenity was a premise for disaster and a general bad time.

"_Akatsuki-san, you've reached the five kilometer mark. You can stop now."_

Landing on the bough of a massive fir after hearing Mandalay's directions echoing in her head, Rei let out a sigh. Wiping her forehead she stood up to her full height, looking around in wonder. She really was in the thick of things, not a clear path visible on the ground for people to traverse. Instead, much to her surprise…

The ground was rather dull, with only a few patches of grass. Empty, devoid of plants.

Rei frowned. That didn't seem natural.

"_As per Pixie Bob's instructions, you have until dinner to make it back here to the site. Other than that, there are no additional rules. Use your quirk as you please, and the terrain to your advantage. Also, you are now allowed to run on the ground." _

So all she had to do was run the five kilometers back, without restrictions anymore? Now she knew something was up. Lingering in the trees for a moment longer, she watched around her carefully, ears perked up as she listened for any sort of danger.

"_Ready, set, go!" _

There, off to the side almost a hundred yards, a distinct groaning and shifting of dirt that made Rei's skin crawl. But it wasn't so unfamiliar; no, this was something fresh from recent memory. The sound began to move, emitting from multiple locations. In the shadows of the forest, Rei's eyes began to pick out the figures, her face hardening.

The dirt monsters from the other day had returned.

_Pixie Bob's quirk is legendary! Earthflow can control all types of earth and form whatever she wants. Landslides, mountains, and those creatures that we fought in the forest. It's easy to imagine how good it is for both rescuing and for creating those monsters for defense or offense when fighting villains._

Right now, Rei was thanking her lucky stars that Midoriya had already divulged all of his fanboy knowledge about the Pussycats over dinner during the previous night. At least now she knew why Pixie Bob had taken her aside; it was essentially a free-for-all with Rei and the terraformed creatures, and both sides could now let loose and create havoc in the forest, from what Rei could already see from the actions of the creatures.

But unlike the previous day, the creatures were now honing in intently on her location. Without hesitation they tore themselves from the earth, still forming their own limbs and faces as they began making their way towards Rei's location in the trees. Deadened and empty eyes stared up at her, screeches already tearing from their throats as they reached for her with talons, hands and appendages that seemed to spawn from her worst nightmares.

Clenching her hands in a fist for a moment, she flipped them out at her sides and extended her nails, sharp talons that were ready for action. She knew from the previous day that she could kick them and claw at the earth in order to tear their bodies apart, but it would be messy. She would have to be careful; her primary objective was to make it back to the camp, not tear through every enemy that crossed her path. It would be a difficult feat indeed, what with the way the creatures were trained on her figure.

With one final crouch on the tree branch she launched herself toward the first enemy, colliding with its face and delivering a solid kick. It screeched in horror, but Rei wasted no time in clawing for its throat, going for the jugular, or at least where it would be in a human… creature?

Now that she thought about it, fighting these beasts was more like fighting a Nomu. Hair raised at the comparison, she tensed as she watched the creature she had just attacked melt back into the ground in defeat. No, now was not the time to freeze up. Enemies were enemies, and she had a job to do.

The creatures were much faster than the previous day. Another golem came galloping up toward her position, jaw unhinged as it shrieked at its prey. Taking off running, Rei slid underneath its belly, claws ripping its underside open. She both hummed and cringed in satisfaction as it collapsed with a cry, mud and dirt splattering all over her from the action. With disgust and a crinkled nose she tried to shake the dirt off of her and brush her shoulders, but it only seemed to smear things in.

Great. It wasn't even noon and she was already ready for another bath.

There was no time to cringe or react, as another creature had already taken the downed earth beast's place, headbutting and ramming right into Rei. She cried out from the surprise attack, sailing high into the air as she was launched right off of the ground. Twisting around, she grimaced as she took in her surroundings midair, digging her claws into a tree trunk in order to secure herself and catch her breath. Five more enemies had appeared, moaning and creaking strangely as they stared up at her almost absent mindedly. It was horrifying and unsettling, yet Rei was determined. She was no longer thrown off or thinking about how odd these creatures were. In the zone and focused, she narrowed her eyes as she began to think of a plan.

Clearly Pixie Bob was creating these creatures at a much faster rate than before, intended to get in her way and slow her down from making it back to camp. It would be a waste of time to try and eliminate all of them in an effort to clear a path, when more would simply spring up from the dust of the dead. She would have to multitask, keeping herself oriented and moving while balancing fighting and maneuvering around the enemies.

A tall order, but one that all heroes should be able to accomplish easily. There was no easing into the situation. Aizawa's method was that of pushing one off into the deep end with minimal scaffolding and support as he went along. Those who couldn't even float were deemed worthless. Those who did at least stood a chance, should they prove themselves worthy.

As expected, in order to push her to her limits.

A new beast with wings had leapt up from the ground in Rei's direction, talons reaching forward with deadly intent. Pushing off from the tree Rei backflipped over the monster, sailing through the air and watching her landing, centering herself over another monster in the ground. From the height she had been at she gained enough momentum to send the beast into the ground, driving her feet into its back and pushing the air out of it as it collapsed.

… Did these things even breathe? Technically they were made of dust and earth…

Now that she was back within range, the beasts rushed toward her position with roars and shrieks galore. Steeling her wills and narrowing her eyes in determination, Rei readied her fists and slid into a defensive stance, ready to burst forward at any given moment. She was already sweating and filthy, half about to scream in frustration at the arduous task that stood before her. But she couldn't deny that a part of her was enthralled, more than ready to push herself in order to prove how strong she was and to find the next level in order to go beyond her current limits.

Training camp had officially begun, and the gates of hell had unleashed a monstrous challenge that somehow made Rei's blood sing in exhilaration of the beating to come.

* * *

For a majority of the students, lunch couldn't come around soon enough. For others the time flew by so quickly that they were surprised at the timing, almost wanting to train a bit longer and harder instead of taking a meal break. But all in all, everyone was thankful in the end for the brief respite. Cold sandwiches and other easily transportable snacks were dished out at the center of the clearing, the students retreating into the shade of the forest to eat. It was the first time that the two classes were able to mingle with one another, some of the students choosing to get to know the other class while the rest stuck to their friend groups and ate in relative peace.

Finally, a moment to relax and recharge. Everyone was taking advantage of the break, lying out in the shade and relaxing against the trees.

Almost everyone.

"Where is Akatsuki?"

The girls all paused, looking around in confusion and surprise. Sure enough, just as Uraraka had noticed, the black haired and golden eyed girl was nowhere to be seen. No one would have been offended if Rei had chosen to sit somewhere else for lunch, the one character in their group that was relatively unpredictable, but it was surprising that she wasn't joined at the hip to Yaoyorozu for their afternoon meal. Six pairs of eyes looked around the clearing, noting where most of the class had spread out and furrowing their brows as they realized that not one of them was their favorite, brooding, tactician.

Yaoyorozu looked to Uraraka in concern. "Were the two of you not together with Pixie Bob this morning?"

Nodding her head, Uraraka's lips twisted. "We were, though, I don't remember seeing where she ran off to after I started my training." The poor girl was still nauseous, only grabbing a can of ginger ale and half a sandwich to try and calm her stomach down from the dizzying trials that Pixie Bob had sent her through. Once she had stepped into the clear ball she hadn't had much time to orient herself, all her focus being pulled in her attempts to try and not llose her stomach inside the tight space. She certainly remembered that she and Akatsuki had gone with the blue outfitted Pussycat, but after that, she wasn't entirely sure what happened.

"This is strange." Cobalt eyes looked around the clearing one last time before returning to the group in front of her. "Tsuki-chan isn't one to miss meals either."

"Hey, do you think it's a part of her training?" Ashido piped up, though she looked rather concerned for Rei's wellbeing. The thought of not having a break, especially for food, was horrifying for the pink girl, her eyes wide in sympathy.

"It's possible, since we don't know the specifics."

"Poor Tsuki-chan." Tsuyu chewed her sandwich thoughtfully, swallowing quickly and rotating the food in her hand in an attempt to eat it more evenly and less messily. "I hope she's alright."

Uraraka pumped her first, inspiring a bit of confidence in the group at her upbeat attitude. "Tsuki-chan is strong! She'll be okay."

"Kero!" Everyone looked to Tsuyu, who had perked up at something. "Listen! Do you hear that sound?"

"Sound?" Yaoyorozu looked around along with the group, trying to discern what Tsuyu had heard. The group went silent, straining their ears to pick up any odd sounds. Nothing, for a moment. Perhaps they had been imagining things.

Suddenly, they heard a familiar roar that sent shivers down their spine. This time it was loud enough for everyone to hear, startlingly close and sending all of Class 1-A to their feet as they tensed, prepared for a fight. Only Class 1-B looked around in confusion and fear, uncertain of what was going on.

The earth beasts from yesterday were back. Was this another test?

Instead they heard a battle cry ring out from the forest, close enough that they knew the person was within range but far enough away that no one could clearly see what was going on. Suddenly one of the earth beasts flew into the clearing, startling everyone and making a few people shriek in surprise and horror. It had flown over the heads of a few students from Class 1-B, sending them running in random directions screaming in an attempt to get out of the way of whatever would follow. But nothing else did, and eventually all eyes turned back toward the hulking creature that sat in the clearing, now downed and out for the count.

It was monstrous in size, but unmoving. After a few moments it began to dissipate, granules of dirt, dust, and sand morphing back into the ground as Class 1-A began to relax. At least it wasn't a threat any longer. But what exactly had been the cause of its abrupt appearance?

Pixie Bob had left the food station, shouting in jubilation and running over with her hands above her head in a ridiculous fashion, peering at something in the middle of the beast. "My, my! That was fabulous! That only took an additional thirty minutes from what I gave you! And you beat my expectation that you would take longer!"

A more human groan sounded this time from the beast, and as the outline finally melted back into the ground a few eyes widened at the sight. With one knee on the ground and the other foot propping herself up, arms resting on the leg in an attempt to keep herself upright, an extremely dusty and dirty Rei emerged into sight. Coughing while hacking away at the earth beast's crumbling exterior, she shook her head frantically, eyes closed as she tried to get the dust out of them.

With the enemy vanquished everyone began to relax, but multiple sets of eyes were still on the one student who was crouching rather wearily at the center of it all. Pixie Bob smacked her on the back in congratulations, making her jolt forward and extending her arms to catch herself on the ground as the older pro hero laughed. "But unfortunately you don't get an extended lunch! Thirty minutes left!"

As the woman skipped back to the rest of her team, Yaoyorozu stood from the group and marched her way over to her friend, kneeling down next to her as she looked Rei over. Her arms and legs were trembling, most likely from muscle exhaustion, lungs sucking in air greedily as she tried to recover from whatever living hell she had just exited. Putting a hand on Rei's shoulder, Yaoyorozu offered a small smile as her friend slowly looked over to whoever had thought to approach her.

"Do you need some help?"

Rei wanted to roll her eyes, but instead she closed them and exhaled sharply. "No, but I'd appreciate it."

Smile still on her face, Yaoyorozu stood up and moved in front of Rei, extending two hand in front of her in offering. With a grimace and a grunt Rei managed to lift one of her hands up, Momo clasping it between her two and heaving her friend to her feet. Standing upright once more, Rei began to stretch out her arms, moving her limbs slowly as she cringed at the pain.

Not even a few hours into the day and she was already feeling it. A week of this was sure to kill her at some point.

Momo stayed next to Rei as she moved to get some food, taking half a sandwich, some fruit, and a water before following her friend's lead back into the shade. The girl waved the duo over, making room for Rei to join their little circle and immediately pestering her with questions.

"Tsuki-chan, are you fighting those beasts?"

"That's so brutal!"

"Tsuki-chan, what are those bracelets you're wearing?"

Leave it to Tsuyu to be the most observant. Wearily she lifted one hand up, flashing the silver bangle that slid down her arm innocently. "They're weights. One for each arm and leg."

"Woah, that's so intense!"

Frowning, Yaoyorozu looked at her friend in concern. "Are you sure you're alright? If you push too far, you might tear something in your body."

Rei only shrugged her shoulders, biting into her sandwich greedily. She had wanted to eat at least two full sandwiches based on how hungry she was, but she knew that if she overate she would be at risk for throwing it all back up later. The afternoon was only going to get warmer, and the last thing she wanted to do was get sick on top of being physically, mentally, and overall drained and deprived of strength from basic training. Chewing thoughtfully, she looked back to her silver eyed friend. "My regeneration's getting tested, but I should be able to handle it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Uraraka pumped her fists, a serious look on her face. "Tsuki-chan, you're so cool!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Ashido joined in, a grin on her face this time. "Like Kirishima would say, 'you're so manly!'"

The girls devolved into a fit of giggles at Ashido's impression and gestures, Rei offering a genuine smirk instead of a full laugh, given that she was eating and didn't want to accidentally choke on her food. She had to admit, some of Ashido's impressions were pretty on point. As the group began to relax once again Rei fell back to the sides, simply taking things in as they came and relaxing in the shade.

To be honest, she was almost certain that she had been about to tear her hamstring after a particular kick she had tried to deliver to one of the earth beasts. It was only about thirty minutes prior, when the exhaustion from the weights was settling in and her moves were starting to get a little sloppier. She hated admitting it, but it was the truth. In the heat of the moment her momentum had pulled her leg a little further than she had anticipated, and she was barely able to compensate for the move and twist her torso a bit extra. A bit further and something would have broken inside her.

If the rest of the afternoon was going to be anything like the morning, then Rei was in for a rough ride. Something in her was going to break, and she would have to figure out how to handle it. A dark look came over her face. Actually, how was she supposed to handle that?

As lunch came to a close and the students began picking up their trash and cleaning up the training ground in anticipation of the next few hours, Akatsuki made her way over to Aizawa. He was standing on the edge of the clearing near the path back to the main building, standing with Class 1-B's homeroom teacher Vlad. A bit apprehensive, she edged toward them slowly, waiting for Aizawa to notice her approach.

To his credit he noticed almost immediately as soon as she had begun making her way over, raising his eyebrows as Rei began moving more purposefully toward him. "Aizawa-sensei." Standing before him, she looked between the two teachers, bowing a bit awkwardly as she looked at the other pro hero teacher standing next to him. "Vlad-sensei."

At least the other pro hero grunted in assent, nodding his head at her greeting. It was as best of a mutual greeting as she would get from the gruff hero.

"Akatsuki. What's your question."

Monotone, but to the point. Rei straightened up as best she could, returning her attention to her own homeroom teacher. "A question about how far to push myself. If I continue at this rate, I'm liable to tear something. What should I do in that case?"

There was silence as he looked her over, brain working over her question. A glimmer lingered in his eyes before he wiped his expression again, looking completely unbothered and unperturbed by anything. "This training camp is meant to push you beyond your limits," he began rather diplomatically, "and as such you should be prepared to break. You know your quirk best. Whether you think it is best to pause and regenerate or continue to push is up to you."

"And what would you have me do?"

It was clear that the two of them already understood Aizawa's first answer, Rei staring at him and waiting for his personal opinion on the matter. He seemed to be reevaluating her for a moment, the smallest bit of pride on his face before answering again in a monotone voice.

"Based on your plans for your future career, you must understand that at times you will have to face impossible odds. You must be able to carry on even in the face of certain defeat, if you want to live to see another day."

Rei smiled a tiny smile, appreciative of his honesty. Most students would have balked at his blatant expectation that the student would continue on in the face of injury, especially at the expense of potentially hurting themselves further. But Rei was not most students; she knew that at the end of the day, she would regenerate and eventually be fine. Even more than that, she would not die, could not die. In Aizawa's eyes, the more she prepared for the inevitable, the better.

In the face of pain and injury she would have to carry on. This camp was about pushing her quirk further and further until it broke and was reborn into something newer and stronger, and it was Rei's luck that this goal coincided with her future hero training.

The more she broke now, the less she would break in the future.

"Thank you, sir." Bowing in gratitude she took off back toward the rest of the class, the students receiving their next assignments for the afternoon. She took off at a jog as best she could what with her muscles screaming in protest, but she needed to catch up. She couldn't fall behind, not now. She had already been late to lunch, and although she had surpassed Pixie Bob's expectations with that she had failed her personal own. This afternoon she was determined to make things work, to be successful in every manner, even if she broke along the way.

As she ran back off to see Pixie Bob for her next assignment, Aizawa folded his arms over his chest, he and the other teacher watching her move away. Vlad raised an eyebrow inquisitively, tilting his chin up as he looked after the black haired student. "Not bad. Is she the one you were telling me about last night?"

"Yes." Reaching into his pocket Aizawa pulled out his eye drops, tilting his head backward as he carefully squeezed the tiny bottle and blinked away at the sudden moisture. "She's on the right path."

"Not what I'd imagined, but she's pretty tough."

"Not tough enough. But that will change after this week."

That was the plan, at least. It was up to Rei how much she decided to push herself. Aizawa couldn't make that decision for her. But somehow he was convinced that he knew how things would turn out and what decisions she would make.

* * *

Brutal. Agonizing. Dirty, frustrating, hair pulling, exhaustive, and inexplicably rage inducing. They were all words that Rei would use to describe the afternoon's training session, as well as a few more explicatives that were less than savory or polite to be using in general. Truly, she had never been pushed this hard in her life. She imagined that Chirasaki had been absolutely brutal on her, but now his testing and training seemed like a cake walk.

Had he ever trained with weights as well? And if he did, was it insulting or merciful that he hadn't subjected Rei to the same experience back a few months ago?

It was always easy to look back in retrospect at the ways that Rei could have prepared better or more efficiently used her time in training. The idea of weights was so simple that she found herself mentally berating herself for not acting upon her previous ideas of incorporating them into her personal training sessions. But perhaps it was better this way. Surely if she had tried to use weights earlier, she wouldn't have been as mentally strong as she was now to endure them for this long.

For the afternoon portion, Pixie Bob had switched things up a bit. Instead of trying to make it back to a specific location in a set amount of time, it was time to play a new game. Of course, Rei had immediately known by the menacing glitter in the pro hero's eyes that this game wouldn't be fun at all for Rei, but she had sucked it up and shouldered the dread that had immediately risen in her chest at the mention of a game.

Now instead of fighting the earth golems, Rei's primary objective was to outrun them. She was permitted to fight in self defense, just in case they got too close for comfort, but her objective was to run for as long as possible without getting captured. The time limit started as five minutes, and with every successful run the time increased by one minute that she would have to survive.

It all seemed quite clear and easy when Pixie Bob had explained things to her, but of course things couldn't be so simple.

First and foremost, the creatures were as fast as her now.

No longer was Rei fighting to escape the cumbersome giants that lumbered after her with stumpy limbs and almost sloppy swings that traded speed for strength. Instead she was being chased by lithe creatures that lashed out with surprising dexterity and aggression, hungry to hunt down their next meal.

Second, the definition of "being captured" was ill defined and much more horrifying than what Rei had imagined.

The round ended either when one of the creatures swallowed her whole (a disgusting sensation that Rei ranked as one of the top most unpleasant experiences she would never wish on anyone ever) or when she tapped out and screamed that she was done. Unfortunately, the latter rarely ever happened, since she was too proud and Aizawa's words would ring in her head about facing impossible odds, so she found herself on multiple occasions being shoved into a creature's mouth and tumbling down a short tunnel before being dropped on the earth as the creature disintegrated. She would then have five minutes to recollect herself before the game would begin anew.

If this was the pro hero's definition of a game, she definitely didn't want to get on Pixie Bob's bad side.

So that was how another four hours had passed, Rei finally managing to rack up her survival time to eleven minutes. It had been at that limit for a while now, especially since her strength was waning and her muscles were beginning to delay. She was sweaty and covered in dust and grime, her exposed skin scratched up from the gravel and pebbles that attacked her skin every time she was swallowed whole.

Now lying on the ground and nearing the end of her five minute respite, she rolled over and hauled herself to her feet, slowly but surely. She had to flip over and crawl onto her hands and knees before pulling one foot forward and using her leg to push her upper body up, eventually coming to sway onto her feet as her muscles contracted, entire body shuddering. Hacking, coughing, and spitting out the dust that she had accidentally inhaled while inside the belly of the beast, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and staggered toward a tree, leaning on it for support.

"_Akatsuki-san, time's up. It's time for dinner. Please make it back to camp. The building is directly south of your position." _

Rei couldn't help the sigh that reactively left her chest as she breathed heavily in relief. It was over, at least for today. Orienting herself by the slowly setting light of the sun she began the trek back to camp, dragging her feet dusting herself off as best as she could.

When she had first been told that she was expected to keep the weights on at all times during the training camp, she hadn't thought much of it. Now that the day was done though, she wanted nothing more than to throw them off so that she could at least walk at a normal pace instead of feeling like she was being weighed down by four boulders that she dragged on each limb. With a long groan of displeasure she began stretching her limbs out slowly, making her way back. She had to at least stretch now, otherwise the next day would be impossible to survive without either Rei herself snapping into two pieces like a twig or Rei reaching out and snapping someone in half in agitation.

By the time she emerged back at the camp most everyone had already changed into regular clothes and were coming out of the dorms. Midoriya was the first to see Rei, beaming over at her and waving his hand. "Oh, Akatsuki!"

His shout had attracted several more looks in his and Rei's direction, much to her displeasure. But even as she began to bristle, folding her arms across her chest, the irritation began to dissolve as she saw the green haired boy racing over to meet her. With a small sigh to herself she shrugged her shoulders, expression on her face turning more neutral.

How could she ever hate Midoriya?

"Akatsuki, did you just get back?"

"Yeah." She blinked, taking the chance to look around at the rest of the two classes. They had begun organizing themselves, what with Iida doing a bit of directing as stations began to be set up. "What did I miss?"

"Ah, they told us to clean up a bit before we start cooking. It looks like the pro heroes only cooked for us last night, so it's up to use from here on out."

"I see." Rei's lips twitched, a smile just barely forming for her friend. "Thanks. I'll be back soon."

"Right!" The boy darted off, heading back toward the rest of the class and joining in with the work. Rei took a moment to look on after him, surprised and exhausted just at watching him move faster than a walk. How did he still have energy? Rei was completely wiped. Frankly she wasn't sure if she would make it back outside after cleaning up, so tired that she was almost ready to sleep without eating food. But that was irresponsible, so holding her grumbling back she began trudging back to the dorms.

Right as she walked into the foyer, tugging off her shoes with a bit of effort, Bakugou came into view. He looked rather surprised at Rei's appearance, taking in her dirty face and uniform as Rei returned the look with one of displeasure.

To his credit, he didn't even sneer or begin picking on her in front of everyone else. Instead he only blinked at her, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets as he spoke softly, keeping their conversation to themselves. "You look like trash."

"Is it that obvious?" Responding with a dry tone, she watched in amusement as he rolled his eyes, moving into the foyer and grabbing his shoes in order to tug them onto his feet. "I think I'm ready to drop dead."

"Don't you dare fucking skip out on helping out with food."

"Does it matter if I fall asleep and don't eat?"

"Just hurry up and wash your face. You look pathetic."

Rolling her eyes, Rei scoffed as she shot back with sarcasm again. "How do you know the right words to say to a girl in distress?"

"Distress my ass. You're better than that." His shoes finally on, he tossed a soft looks in her direction that had none of the anger and all of the concern that he was slowly beginning to show more openly around her. Was he tired too? It seemed like it when the facade of anger came tumbling down, even if it was momentary. "Hurry up and help out."

"Yeah, yeah." Rei tossed her hand to the side lazily in a dismissive wave, arm flopping down to her side from the weight afterward. "I'll be there."

After a quick wipe down of the grime and dust, Rei had to admit that she felt markedly better. Her limbs were still trembling from the exertion and threatening to give out at any minute, but now she felt more ready to eat than to sleep. Stomach gurgling and growling in anticipation, she quickly changed into a pair of black leggings and a black tank top. The silver of the weighted bangles stood out more clearly now that her outfits was more simple and uniform in color, and she twisted them around her wrist mindlessly as she made her way back outside.

It was strange to see everyone in such casual clothing. Save for perhaps Midoriya, Todoroki, and Bakugou, Rei had never seen anyone else in clothing aside from school uniform, gym uniform, and their hero costumes. It was a nice touch, making her feel a little more relaxed in her own chosen clothes and seeing others dressed more casually. Melding back into the group, she observed the different stations before approaching one table that seemed to be chopping and preparing vegetables.

A bit shyly, she stepped up to the group, apprehensive as the two girls sitting down looked up at her. "Ah, mind if I join you?"

The duo looked at one another before smiling brilliantly at Rei, earnest and jubilant. "Of course! Are you any good at cutting vegetables?"

It was Rei's turn to smile, though just a bit as she was still a tad wary of meeting new people. "Good enough."

"Then that's good for us! Grab a cutting board and knife over there." They gestures to the next table over, supplies stacked up in an orderly fashion. Grabbing the tools necessary, Rei took a seat next to the orange haired girl. The two girls moved the vegetables toward the center of the table, making it more accessible for their latest addition and reorganizing their set up.

Pausing in her work, the orange haired girl extended a hand to Rei, who looked up in surprise after sitting down. "I'm Kendo Itsuka from Class 1-B! It's nice to meet you."

"And I'm Tokage Setsuna! You're that crazy girl from the sports festival, right?"

Startled at the association, Rei nodded slowly. "Yeah. Akatsuki Rei."

"Nice to officially meet you!" At least the two of them seemed rather friendly towards people from 1-A, a marked difference from the general attitude that everyone else seemed to bear. Relaxing into her spot, Rei began chopping away quickly, keeping her ears on the conversation even as her hands started moving. "We never got to tell you, but we were all rooting for you! The girls at least."

That was surprising. Rei looked up briefly across the table to the green haired girl before returning back to her work. "Really?"

"Yeah! After Class 1-B was eliminated, pretty much all of the girls were rooting for you. Gotta support one another, right?" Kendo winked at Rei just as she looked up, the two sharing a smile in support. Rei had never given much thought to Class 1-B, so focused on her own studies and abilities that she never really spared so much as a glance in their direction. But these two were kind, reminding Rei of the girls in her own class. Perhaps making friends beyond 1-A wasn't such a terrible idea.

"Thanks for your support," Rei sheepishly thanked them, still a bit flustered that people she hadn't known had been cheering for her. But the duo only smiled, chattering away.

"Not a problem! Say, what's your quirk? And what were you working on today?"

Even if they had just met, Rei found that conversation came naturally with the other two girls. She explained the barebones of her quirk, skimping over her regenerative properties as they immediately began asking questions. It wasn't all an interrogation, however, as they were more than willing to share about themselves. Rei found herself warming up to Tokage in particular, whose quirk was reptilian in nature and putting her in a similar situation to Rei and her cat like qualities. With easygoing conversation their work flew by, and sooner than later they found themselves finished with the vegetables they had been given.

With their part of the work completed and with everyone else taking care of the rest of the jobs and the cooking, the trio returned to their table to continue their conversation. Yaoyorozu eventually joined in, searching for Rei and getting roped into the conversation with the four of them as they chattered away in an amiable fashion. Clean, tired, and now in a generally good mood from meeting two new friends, Rei was surprised how fast the time flew by until food was ready to be eaten.

After the sun had set and the sky was once again tinged with navy and purple, the two classes began to chow down side by side. Yaoyorozu and Rei sat next to one another, the other two girls apologizing for leaving before returning to sit with their class, Kendo mentioning something about keeping their class member in line. It was after the first bite that Rei realized just how hungry she was, and she tried to not scarf everything down in one go.

Ashido, who had been sitting behind Yaoyorozu and Rei, leaned over to chat. "Woah! Yao-momo, you sure eat a lot, don't you?"

Delicately wiping her mouth and chewing thoroughly before answering, Yaoyorozu sat up straight. "Yes. My quirk turns lipids into various atoms to create things, so the more I eat, the more I can make."

"Wow, it's like poop."

Rei didn't even hesitate to reach around Yaoyorozu and karate chop Sero straight over the head, making him sputter and almost drop his bowl in surprise and pain. He didn't need to look up to know that Rei was giving him a death glare, aura deadly enough to suffocate any further miscomments.

"Excretement is created out of the remaining substances that the body can't absorb. Momo's quirk takes the good fats that have already been processed and transforms them into objects." Her voice was level and deceptively flat, but everyone in the area felt chills going down their spine at the sudden change in Rei's demeanor. "Have some consideration before you speak."

"Y-yes, I got it! I'm sorry!"

"Good." Just like the flip of a switch, Rei returned to normal, face placid and rather happy as she popped another bite of food into her mouth. Everyone looked on in horror for another moment before muttering amongst themselves.

"Damn, I forgot how scary Rei can be."

"Yeah, she's been so lowkey recently that I forgot that she can murder someone with one look."

Rei ignored them, merely looking over to Yaoyorozu to check in with her. At least the creative girl looked rather pleased at what Rei had said, shoulders held a little bit higher. A small smile had returned to her face, looking at Rei with warmth. "Thank you, Tsuki-chan. I'm surprised you know that much about my quirk."

"Basic human anatomy. Anyone who understand the digestive system should know that stuff." Shrugging her shoulders as though it was no big deal, Rei was secretly pleased at the compliment. But she continued to eat quietly, watching as the conversation returned to the table.

Looking up, Midoriya's figure suddenly caught her eye. He had grabbed a plate of curry and was walking out into the forest for some reason. Brows furrowing for a moment before smoothing over, Rei returned to her food. Strange. He must have some reason for doing whatever it was he was doing. She would make a mental note to ask him later, if she had time.

Eventually the meal time came to a close. When everyone was finally satisfied the few remaining leftovers were packaged up and put away inside the kitchen, while all the students pitched in to clean up their mess. In no time the outside mess hall was left spotless, not a bit of trash on the ground or charcoal left in the burners. Everyone hurried inside to make it to the baths, eager to take a shower and sleep.

Now that she was full, clean, and satisfied, it didn't take long to Rei to fall asleep. The girls had still been talking around her by the time her eyes had fluttered shut, dead to the world. It had been a long day, and there were only longer ones ahead.

She would take every moment of sleep that she could grab.

* * *

AN: I'm literally so wiped out, I nearly passed out at work today (yikesss).

**I've gotten a few questions regarding the I-Island/ Movie arc, so I'd like to clear that up again. **I know I mentioned it before, but I wasn't terribly clear, since I only wrote an explanation in a response to a review. When I was writing massive chunks of this story back in March, I fully intended on writing the movie into the story. However, I found myself stuck in a writer's block, and I only got one and a half chapters in before I completely froze. It was so bad, I actually stopped writing for about two weeks. So in order to get around that block, I decided to temporarily scrap it and move on. I do have plans to revisit what I've written and to finish writing that arc, but it might not be for a while or until I can figure out exactly what I want to do with it. Rest assured, I will keep you all updated for when I finish it! It's the next thing on my bucket list to complete, since I'm satisfied with everything else canon that I've written so far. Thanks for your patience!

This chapter was uploaded in a bit of a rush, since I've got a paper due tomorrow and it's not finished yet. I was honestly tempted to not update this week, but I would drive myself nuts if I did that (and no doubt, that would drive some of you nutters as well). Sorry if there's any grammatical errors that I didn't catch in this one!

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**TheBlackDagger456**: Should I put in the description of the story that this is slow burn? I've tempted that thought a couple times, but I've ended up going against it for a while... But I'm glad you love it! Trust me, it's killing me a bit too.

**dragontamer64**: I'm glad you're okay! Yeah I thought it was strange that you didn't review so I just thought I'd give a little shout out. Glad it could make your day! And who knew Bakugou could be smooth... but he's such a noodle at the same time lol. Take care of yourself during the summer too! I know those feels... I can't be out in the sun very much since I get heatstroke easier than most, but I guess that's an excuse to write more...?

**raquil . lowinraven**: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. It's hard to believe that it's come all this way, but I'm glad that people are still really enjoying it.

**Anseo**: LOL all the flirty feelings and the cute things! I honestly can't believe she confessed either, it was just one of those moments where I was trying to beef up a chapter and my writing was like, "... surprise?" So apparently yeah she's finally confessed, and that's a thing. There went all my careful planning for later. Guess that's what happens when I've written so far ahead and I've planned even further; when I go back to edit, some things just come out.

**yaoi4adollar**: They're like basically a couple! Which is... so wild to me! But they're not really a couple, more like two dorks that kind of like each other and don't really know what to do beyond that. High school couples in my opinion are rarely ever serious until later, so that's the approach I'm taking with this. We're in it for the long haul! And yes, all the angst... no spoilers here, but it'll be... a time.

**RandomThingz123**: Thanks for the review! I totally get how you feel about wanting things to be "show ready" before uploading or publishing a story anywhere. I was exactly the same. However, I noticed that I never finished things, so I decided to try something new and start uploading as a way to motivate myself to finish. It's been working for some stories (this and Limitless are my two successes so far), while others it hasn't. It's all about finding what gets you writing! Sometimes you just have to try different things.

**Dear** **Apollo**: I'm glad that these chapters are making you happy! I hope that you continue to enjoy them even as we get to more angsty times in the future.

**shad. e. dc16**: Hopefully my note at the beginning of this author's note cleared things up; I promise that I-Island is still in progress. I apologize for having to take it out, but if I hadn't moved on from writing that arc I wouldn't have ever gotten past chapter 24. Sometimes things just have to switch around, but I do plan on taking up that challenge again and finishing that section! Please be patient in the meantime, and I hope you enjoy the things I do have written!

**Thank you for the reviews! **

**Of the original characters, which character would you like to see more of?**

**Leave a review and let me know!**

**Have a great week :D**


	26. Training Camp (Part 2)

Chapter 26

Training Camp (Part 2)

* * *

The training at camp was brutal. By the time day three had rolled around Rei was ridden with sore muscles, her regenerative powers already working on overload to ensure that her bruises and other injuries were prioritized and healed first. She knew that the best way to work out the soreness in her muscles was to get them moving, but that didn't make things any less painful. Waddling out to the training area once more, she raised her arms in order to stretch and groaned immediately at the motion, continuing to stretch her arms up and out in a wide circle strictly out of habit.

Yaoyorozu looked at her in sympathy. "Tsuki-chan, you should let me make a compress at the end of training tonight."

Shrugging her shoulders, Rei lifted a hand to her mouth as she yawned, a jaw splitting motion that had her blinking blearily and licking her lips afterward. "No, it's fine. Your quirk was exhausted last night. I can't imagine tonight will be any different."

The cobalt eyed girl had opened her mouth to reply, but Aizawa had appeared in front of the class, the Pussycats not far behind him. "Good morning. I hope you got enough sleep to face the trials we have for you today. Report to the same members that you did yesterday for your training schedule this morning. That is all."

Rei patted Momo's shoulder sympathetically, the two parting ways as Rei made her way over to Pixie Bob. Along the way Uraraka joined her, looking rather stressed and a bit worried about what sorts of trials were ahead of her.

Well, she had been the one thrown around in that hamster ball afterall. Rei couldn't blame her for being nervous about being subjected to that sort of torture again.

Much to the gravity girl's fortune, she had been charged with carrying large pieces of debris around the field for a long as possible without losing control or vomiting. With a sigh of relief she had given a wave to Rei before taking off, approaching a pile that Pixie Bob had created for her and getting to work. With the other girl now gone, the blonde pro hero turned her eyes to the golden eyed girl, appraising her once more.

"You did pretty well yesterday. I'll be honest and say that I was impressed with your performance."

"Thank you?"

The woman grinned. "But you have a lot of work to do before you become good. Are you ready for today?"

There it was. Start with a compliment and end with something vaguely degrading. Still, Rei was up for the challenge. Nodding her head, she looked Pixie Bob in the eyes, showing her determination. "Bring it on."

"This morning, you'll be taking an extended run." Pointing off into the distance, Rei turned her head to look at a mountain that was quite a ways away, definitely more than a few miles away and longer than the run she had done on the previous morning. "See that mountain? There's a type of granite that you can find at the peak. You'll know what I mean when you see it. Bring a piece back to me as proof that you've ascended, and come back."

Stretching her quads out, Rei breathed in deeply to try and get her legs to wake up as best as possible before the arduous task ahead. "Any other details I should know?"

The grin that the pro hero sent her was unsettling, a glint in her eyes that made Rei suspicious of what was to come. "You'll be timed on this one. Do whatever it takes to make it back. Run, walk, or crawl, it doesn't matter."

"I don't like the sound of that," Rei muttered under her breath, but she dashed off in the direction of the mountain, eager to begin her task. The sooner she completed it, the sooner she could get back and start the next thing.

Taking off into the cool morning air, Rei darted through uncharted territory as she weaved through the protection of the large trees overhead, appreciating the coolness instead of the blazing hot sun. Her head was on a constant swivel, not fully trusting that Pixie Bob had told her everything about this training exercise. Half of her was ready to fight off more of the earth beasts that she had dealt with the previous day, muscles in her back and core tensing as she remained on high alert. With every step she took she tried to ensure that it was soft, leaving her ears open and ready to hear any sort of unnatural noise that might alert her to an oncoming battle.

As time wore on and she proceeded further and further into her run, the muscles in her body and in her legs in particular began to unwind. It was funny how a night of sleep could made one turn even more stiff and unmoveable, any motion painful and aggravating from a long night of laying dormant on a futon. Swinging her arms as she went in order to try and restore her full range of motion, she took time to warm her neck up as well, keeping things in working order as she progressed.

Scaling the mountain was not such a terrible task as she had imagined, although it definitely tested her jumping skills and warmed up different parts of her legs as she leapt from outcropping to outcropping, scaling the side of the mountain as fast as possible. The good news was it wasn't a sheer, flat, perpendicular landscape to the ground, meaning that Rei didn't have to get her nails dirty by digging them into the hillside in order to ascend to the top.

Like sand in a bellybutton after a day at the beach, dirt underneath her claws was something she abhorred. It made her feel grimy and uncomfortable, even if every other part of her was sparkling clean, and above all else it was difficult to clean. Why did dirt have to get lodged in the most inconvenient places at times?

Ascending to the top with a heave and a final leap, Rei placed her hands on her hips as she caught her breathe. She hadn't stopped once on her way over to the mountain, keeping a steady and brisk pace the entire way. The morning coolness was wearing off, although at the height she was at the wind picked up and tousled her hair, wicking the sweat away easily. Taking a moment to enjoy the view, Rei looked around in all directions as she stood on a small plateau before returning her focus to her mission, eyes trained on the ground.

Just as Pixie Bob had stated, the ground was litered with pieces and chunks of pure granite, rocks flecked with varying shades of brown, white, black, and reflecting in the sunlight when she rotated it in her hand. Sifting through the pieces on the ground and eventually picking a piece that was just slightly smaller than her hand, she tucked it into the pocket of her jacket and zipped the pocket closed, securing it inside her clothing so that she wouldn't lose it.

"_Good work, Akatsuki-san." _Mandalay's voice rang in her head, and Rei instinctively looked back in the direction from which she had come. In the distance she could occasionally see flashes of people running around, as well as explosions coming from Bakugou as fire burst into the air at intervals. It was far off, making Rei marvel at how far she had come.

"_Prepare for phase two." _

_Wait… Phase two? _

Rei didn't have to linger long, as she heard a rumbling picking up around her. Sliding into a defensive stance she readied her claws at her sides, looking around her cautiously and waiting for the inevitable attack. Like the day prior she kept her ears peeled and senses open, waiting for the first beast to morph into creation and strike.

It had been a good guess as to the challenge that awaited her.

But it would have been better if she had turned her eyes to the ground beneath her feet.

The splitting of earth hit her ears, and Rei looked around frantically at the new sound. Fissures began crackling, the ground beginning to shake and tremble. Then, it happened. With a jolt Rei realized that her momentum was being taken forward, the earth sliding beneath her feet and sending her over the edge of the mountain.

There were no monsters today.

A mock natural disaster would suffice.

Shrieking as she found herself falling forward, Rei desperately began looking around herself as the land swiftly morphed into a coursing river of rocks and debris, falling swiftly to the base of the mountain and rocketing along its own course. There were bits and chunks of solid ground that were still holding together as they surfed the current, Rei jumping from her own position to a more solid looking piece just as the ground beneath her was swept away by the undercurrent. Landing on all fours she sank her claws into the dirt, trying to keep a hold onto the ground and keep steady as golden eyes searched frantically for a jumping off point.

When Pixie Bob had said to run, walk, or crawl all the way back, Rei had been insulted. Now that she knew exactly what the pro hero had in store for her, she felt slightly less irked.

She would take crawling on her hands and knees over being consumed by the earthflow.

A landslide. A freaking landslide. Hanging on for dear life, she watched as the flow began to spill out from the base and continue on the ground. There would be no respite from this, not until she returned to the central space where everyone was training. Golden eyes watched carefully as trees began to be uprooted and caught in the swarm, an idea forming in her head.

She would be hard pressed to watch her leaps and landings, especially with the additional weights she was now wearing and considering the fact that a landing too harsh could result in the submersion of her landing spot and subsequent drowning in the wash. It was certainly a new notch above the previous day, and half of her wondered if she could actually make it.

There was only one way to find out.

* * *

She didn't make it.

Somewhere along the way, she had misstepped and been sent flying into the deluge, getting spit back out at Pixie Bob's feet at the end with a groan. The pro hero had only laughed in her face, making comments about how dirty she was, which only irritated Rei more. But there was nothing to do other than suck up her irritation and gather the last bits of her pride before moving along to the next task. It was only natural that she would fail at some things, especially when the standard was high. Everyone was bound to break at some point along the road, but the only thing that mattered was how they handled it and moved on, if they found the power and will to move on at all.

After the change up in the morning Rei was sent back to sparring with the earth beasts, trying to increase her survival time again. To her dismay, Pixie Bob had increased the weights she was wearing, adding another pound to each band before she set off into the forest again. Her record of eleven minutes was barely beaten, only getting raised to thirteen minutes and filling Rei with frustration that she was already beginning to plateau. It was the second day, and she was feeling the wear and tear even more.

Some of that tear had been quite literal.

In the afternoon portion she had finally gotten close to breaching her previous survival time record, nearing twelve and a half minutes as she darted in and out of the greedy talons of the earth golems. With her adrenaline pumping she had delivered a particularly powerful kick to one of the creatures that had happened to get a little too close for comfort, determined to shatter it in one blow in an effort to ensure that her time was saved.

The kick was devastating, sending the creature into the ground with a single hit and instantaneously crumbling beneath the pressure as its face was sent colliding into the ground. But she had applied too much pressure, the strain pulling her muscles taut like a rope until it snapped. The pain had been instantaneous, and Rei had dropped to the ground unceremoniously as her mind was blinded by the searing nature of the wound. Crying out, she barely had time to dodge the next creature, rolling to the side and wincing in pain as she had somersaulted and pushed off with her legs. Something was wrong.

She tried to stand up out of the roll, but her right leg was unable to follow through, forcing her to collapse unevenly back down into the ground and landing on her palms that had reached out to steady herself. Inhaling deep gulps of air in an effort to try and calm herself down and prevent herself from panicking, she hadn't even registered that the onslaught had paused, the creatures melting back down into the ground. So focused on herself, she didn't notice that she was once again alone in the forest, not a sign of life around her.

A few minutes later the sound of footsteps quickly making their way toward Rei had her ears perking up. Blinking through the few tears that had instinctively appeared on her face, she looked up in surprise to find that Tiger had appeared in front of her. He helped her to lay down on her back, delicately prodding at her leg and running through a few diagnostics that sometimes had Rei wincing and hissing in pain from the exertion. When he was finished he began speaking, half to Rei and half to whoever was on the other end of his communicator.

"A torn quad. Nothing too serious, or anything that won't heal with time."

Sitting up, Rei watched as he listened carefully, eyes looking into the distance blankly as he processed the words of whoever he was conversing with. Rei was almost certain that it was Mandalay or Pixie Bob, considering that the two of them seemed to be leading the charge with most of the camp and handing out directions for the day. She waited for Tiger's decision, taking the time to massage out her other uninjured muscles.

Eventually he looked back down at Rei, nodding his head. "If you are unable, I can take you back to the dorms to rest."

"No!"

Rei had even surprised herself with how adamant she was to remain training with her classmates. Tiger's eyebrows shot up on his forehead, clearly surprised and slightly amused that she was so willing to challenge his decision and offering. Shaking her head, Rei tried to tone herself back. "I mean, please no. I want to keep training. I talked with Aizawa-sensei about this already. I heal at a faster rate anyway."

Raising a hand to his headset, Tiger muttered something back to the other side, paraphrasing what Rei had said as he looked away again. Waiting with bated breath, Rei kept her eyes on the large pro hero, awaiting the decision.

Finally, after what seemed like a century, he returned his gaze to Rei with a solemn nod. "You'll return with me to work with the power up types until your leg has healed to a satisfactory degree. I will decided when you get to return. No exceptions."

It was enough to make Rei grin widely, earning a small twitch of Tiger's lips as he stood up, offering a hand to Rei. After pulling her up to her feet, he began to lead the way back, motioning for her to follow him. "Be warned, if I even catch you slacking off a bit I'll send you away."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"Alright! Now that everything is in order, the next thing up on the agenda is..."

"THE TEST OF COURAGE!"

Rei jumped in the air at Ashido's sudden outburst, although she probably should have seen it coming from a mile away. Of everyone in their class, the most excited about camp had been Ashido hands down, who had started rambling on about camp activities from the moment that Aizawa had even hazarded a mention of it months prior. It all seemed so long ago, now that Rei thought about it. And yet, some things were even closer than she realized.

Like bugs.

The night was filled with chirruping and rustling and other cries of nature, sending chills up and down Rei's spine. She had stood particularly close to Yaoyorozu, terrified of what lingered in the trees unseen. It was probably the reason why she hadn't been paying attention to the way that Ashido had literally been vibrating with excitement as the night had fallen and both classes had been gathered out in the forest.

Others cheered in with Ashido, particularly some of the boys who had been equally as enthralled about the class trip from day one, but for the most part everyone seemed to keep a bit more level headed about the infamous test of courage. Everyone wore varying looks of excitement or apprehension of what was to come.

"Before we get to that-"

Aizawa suddenly appeared behind the group, and the individuals who had failed the final exam all collectively winced, knowing what was about to come. "It pains me to say this, but the extra lessons group will be having class with me now."

Rei snorted with amusement as their homeroom teacher swiftly used his binding ties to grab each of the students and drag them along with him as they departed from the main group. Ashido had shrieked in disappointment and terror, almost looking like she was ready to fight Aizawa himself in order to partake in the test of courage, but she at least had enough sense not to in the end.

Poor Ashido. She had been the most excited, and it was all for naught.

As the small group departed, the Pussycats took the stage once again, Pixie Bob stepped forward to explain the rules. "Alright, listen up! Class B will be the first to be the scarers. Class A will leave in pairs every three minutes. There will be tags with your names on them in the middle of the route, so bring those back with you! Those being scarers won't be allowed to make direct contact, so show us how scary you are with your quirk!"

"The class that makes the most people piss their pants with creativity and imagination wins!"

Simple enough. Tiger's addition at the end had been rather crude, but enough to pass the point across. As usual, it seemed that their teachers were taking every advantage to try and pit the two classes against one another in order to get a rise out of their competitive sides. Rei looked to Yaoyorozu, leaning over to whisper into her ear. "Do you like scary things?"

Smiling sheepishly, the other girl looked a little hesitant. It was enough for Rei to glean an answer without Yaoyorozu even having to say a word in reply. "Well, it's not my favorite thing…"

Offering a sympathetic half smile, Rei tilted her head. "It'll be fine. Just start imagining what we'll do to Class B once we finish."

The idea was enough to make Yaoyorozu smile a bit more earnestly, Rei's idea earning a chuckle from the creator girl. Perhaps it was a good thing after all to them to go first, since they could get a good idea of what would terrify the other class most. And with Yaoyorozu's quirk…

Rei smirked deviously, hiding her look behind her hand before wiping her expression as to not terrify anyone before they even started. Their round would be good, that much was for certain.

"Alright! We'll now draw lots to determine teams!"

Yaoyorozu sighed in disappointment, looking to Rei in fear. "It seems that every time we want to be a team we're broken apart."

Patting her friend's shoulder sympathetically, the two of them walked over to get their lots. "Well, we don't know until we draw our numbers…" Taking a slip from Pixie Bob's hand, Rei looked at her number. "Eight. You?"

Flashing her own with a red four, Yaoyorozu shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tsuki-chan. Best of luck to you and your partner." Disappearing into the group as Class 1-A continued to try and find their partners while 1-B left to make preparations, Yaoyorozu walked away in disappointment, shoulders a little more slouched than usual. Looking back down at her number for a moment before looking around, Rei noticed that most of the group was already finding their pairs. At this rate, that meant that…

"Ah, Tsuki-chan?"

Rei turned around, blinking as she took in Midoriya's slow approach. He raised his own number, flashing a matching eight to Rei's own. Raising her own ticket in response, she offered a small smile. "This is our first time actually being paired, isn't it?"

"Huh? Oh, right! You're right." Chuckling nervously, he crammed the paper into his pocket, scratching his cheek nervously. "Ah, I'm already a little nervous. Are you?"

"A little." Rei looked at her partner in sympathy before frowning a bit. "The last time I went into a haunted house, I ended up punching one of the actors because they got too close."

"I-I see…"

Shrugging her shoulders, Rei opened her mouth to say something, but was suddenly caught off by a familiar voice.

"Oi! Akatsuki!"

Rei turned around with a bit of an eyeroll, looking over to a Bakugou who was fumingly stomping his way over toward her direction. She felt Midoriya flinch a bit at Bakugou's rapid approach, but the blonde boy had no eyes for his rival, instead shoving his ticket into Rei's face. She blinked once slowly, raising a single eyebrow mockingly. "No, I don't want your number, in multiple senses."

"Quit being witty with me!" He stepped into her personal space, as though trying to intimidate her with his tall stature by hovering over her head, but Rei only folded her arms across her chest and stared up blankly, looking rather bored and unamused. "Trade numbers with me so I don't have to get paired with half and half."

"First off, Midoriya is my partner. Second," she started sharply just as red eyes glanced to the side to truly see Midoriya for the first time, snatching his attention back and forcing him to look back at her instead, "that's your own luck of the draw. Suck it up and get it over with. It's one activity for one night."

Bakugou glowered at her for a moment longer, the two matched in a stare down that lasted with searing intensity. Midoriya frantically looked between the two, uncertain if he should step in or not and risk having Bakugou's anger turn onto him. Eventually the explosive boy was the one to break things off, scoffing and rolling his eyes while storming away in Ojirou's direction. Rei flipped him off for a moment before returning to face Midoriya, face shifting to something much more calm and undisturbed, almost like nothing had happened. "Sorry, what were we saying?"

"Uh…"

"Are we all ready?" Rallying the group, Pixie Bob motioned over toward the starting point, a narrow path that led into the dark forest and disappeared out of view quickly. "First group, time to go!"

Shoving her hands into her jacket pocket, Rei sighed. "Looks like we'll have a bit of time." She was thankful that she had decided to wear a jacket. On top of her black leggings and black tank top, she added a loose zip up hoodie that was charcoal gray in color. Reina had bought it for her at some point, stating that she couldn't have everything be black in her wardrobe and had to have at least some splashes of different colors or textures. What mattered most was that it was lightweight and breathable, keeping her warm without becoming stifling.

"Tsuki-chan."

Golden eyes turned to Midoriya in curiosity, finding that he had a strangely curious look on his own face as well. "You, well, you seem to get along well with Bakugou now."

"Hmm." Shrugging her shoulders again, she allowed her gaze to find the explosive boy among the group. He apparently had given up on trying to find a replacement, instead settling for seething next to Todoroki, who wore a mixture of awkwardness and bemusement on his face. After watching him for another moment she turned back to Midoriya, shaking her head. Best to keep things on the down low. "I wouldn't say that."

"But it's true." Surprised at Midoriya's outright contradiction to her statement, she found herself speechless as he pushed onward. "No one gets away with telling Kacchan off, or even looking at him in a wrong way. He's always been tough, never letting anyone tell him what to do." He looked at her, face twisted in determination and confidence in what he said. "Of all of us here, you're the closest to breaking through that."

Rei was silenced. No matter how much she wanted to brush Midoriya's comments away, she was suddenly unable to do so. Midoriya, Bakugou's childhood friend turned rival, the one person who could light his fuse faster than an actual match, the one who had known him for the longest period of time. If Midoriya realized such a thing, then Rei couldn't ignore it or try to counter him.

It was something that had been on the fringes of her mind, all this time. Midoriya didn't know how close the two actual were now, especially that they had become neighbors and a whole slew of events had happened beyond the school environment. He didn't know just how far Rei had already broken, how she had seen his weakest, softest, most vulnerable, moments.

He didn't know about the moment the two had shared after the swimming training, about how everything had changed from that point onward.

And frankly, no one needed to know that. Zipping up her emotions and making sure her face was smoothed over, she simply shrugged her shoulders again in a nonchalant manner. "I suppose."

To her surprise, Midoriya smiled, looking down at his hands as he interlaced his fingers in front of him. "To be honest, I'm glad. U.A. has really changed him."

"It's changed all of us." Unfolding her arms and stepping closer to Midoriya, she poked him in the chest, much to his surprise as he looked back into golden eyes that held his own in warmth and teasing, a bit of mirth surfacing on her face. "You've changed too. Where's the boy that would endlessly stutter whenever someone so much as looked at you?"

Flustered, he began to stutter again, earning a soft laugh from Rei as she backed away, letting him collect himself in his own personal space. Eventually he settled on smiling, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "You too. You never smiled when we all first met."

"Yeah, well, friends can change you."

He didn't need to say anything back, the smile on his face growing wider at her words. Now a bit sheepish at her own admission, Rei scratched her cheek before turning away, looking back toward the entrance for the test of courage and looking at the group. Bakugou and Todoroki had already left, Jirou and Hagakure lining up and preparing for their advance into the forest. "I thought that time would pass a bit faster, but we're only on group three."

"Is that so?"

Rei glowered, staring off blankly into space. "Class B better not get tired of doing the same gags. If they half ass their attempts at scaring us I might actually slap someone."

"Tsuki-chan, that's mean…"

"I know." With a brief grin followed by a sigh she kicked at the ground, wincing at the movement. Her right leg was still partially healing, barely a quarter of the way complete as the muscle fibers continued to try and connect together. It wasn't painful enough that it bothered her at every moment, leading to small instances where she would forget and do an action that reminded her of her incapacity. "Damn."

"Are you alright?"

"Tore my quad during training this afternoon. Still waiting for it to heal up."

"Remind me again. You have a regenerative quirk, right?"

"That's right." Pointing to her right leg, the two of them watched as she tried to go through various tests, kicking it out and lifting it up. To her displeasure neither were very high, being barely able to lift it more than six inches off the ground. "Obviously it would take days, maybe weeks for someone to even get this much range of motion if they had the same injury. I would have healed faster if I had taken the rest of the afternoon off too."

"Oh, then, why didn't you? Actually, was that why you were training with me today after lunch?"

Nodding her head, Rei flashed the smallest and briefest of smiles, though it came out more like a grimace as she felt her quad screaming. "Can't afford to fall behind. If I can't use my legs, I'll use my arms. If we're here to train our quirks, then I won't be incapacitated entirely if I lose the use of one part of me."

"That's… a rather unique way of thinking about it."

"Gotta do what we gotta do."

"I suppose so." Midoriya clenched his own hands, most likely envisioning his quirk flooding through his body. "I need to increase my reaction and power up time, according to Tiger. That's what I've been working on."

"Must be nice to be able to turn your quirk on and off."

"Huh?" Looking at his partner in confusion, he tried to make sense of her response, face twisting as he processed her words and digesting her intent before responding. "I've never thought of it that way."

"Trust me, I have. Having to B.S. my way through physical fitness tests in elementary and middle school was a pain."

"Oh, that's right, since you can't turn your quirk off and it's a natural part of you. But isn't it useful to not have to mentally think about turning it on when you're fighting?"

Rei hummed, nodding her head in a small gesture. "That's true."

"Group five! Ready to start?"

Golden eyes watched as Uraraka and Tsuyu made their way into the forest, ears listening as the sound of screams were making their way toward her ears. They lingered on the forest for a few moments longer, trying to discern who was where as best as possible simply to test her abilities. She could make out Yaoyorozu's screech in particular far in the distance, although it was difficult to pinpoint her exact location. The first two groups were completely indiscernable, especially given the fact that neither Bakugou nor Todoroki had let out a single yell the entire time. Were they impenetrable to the frights that Class B was putting on?

Both Rei and Midoriya lapsed into a companionable silence, Rei continuing to stretch out her arms and legs as best as possible. It was after she extended an arm across her chest that Midoriya noticed the bangle on her wrist as it slid down her arm on the outside of her jacket. "Oh, Tsuki-chan, what are those?"

"The bangles? They're weights. Pixie Bob's making me train with them, so I can't take them off at all during the whole week."

"I've never seen them that compact! They must be prototypes from U.A. or some company."

"Probably." Holding one arm up in front of her, she looked at the grey metal that looked rather dull in the low lighting. "It's now three pounds for each arm and four for each leg. It's part of the reason why I tore my quad earlier, since we increased the weight two times today."

"Oh, I see!" Face lighting up, Midoriya became energetic once again. "With your quirk, the weights wear you down faster and force your quirk to compensate. It's training both your muscles and your regenerative properties!"

Rei smiled. Leave it to the class brainiac to figure things out without having to be led all the way to the conclusion. "Exactly." She was about to say more when suddenly she paused, mind being pulled in a new direction as she suddenly grew incredibly aware of her surroundings. A new smell had begun making its way to her nose, something that was both familiar and foreign. It was like when they were cooking dinner, with burning wood and smoke…

Smoke. Burning wood. Freezing as her blood drained, Rei whipped around in confusion, trying to identify the source. Next to her, Midoriya watched as his friend and classmate suddenly shifted in attitude, pupils shifting into slits as a new change washed over her. "T-tsuki-chan?"

"Smoke." The others around them began noticing the scent too, looking around in wonder. Eventually her sharp eyes looked above the treeline, seeing the telltale signs of black smoke picking up in the distance as a soft glow emitted from afar. Lifting a finger she pointed off toward the light, Midoriya and a few others following her point. "There."

Iida stepped closer though still behind Rei, eyes squinting into the distance. "Is something burning? Could there be a fire on the mountain?"

Shaking her head, Rei narrowed her eyes. "No, not the mountain. It's closer than that."

With all eyes turned toward the signs of the fire, no one noticed that Pixie Bob began hovering strangely. Not until it was too late.

"W-what is this?"

Rei and Mandalay had turned in time to see the blonde cat suddenly fly off into the forest off to the left, horror on her face at being unwillingly dragged away. Rei's eyes could only widen in shock as Mandalay called for her partner, the group suddenly shifted their attention at the newest development.

"Those pet cats are in the way."

A strange alto voice rang out from the sidelines, putting everyone on high alert at the whimsical tone that was used. Two figures emerged from the tree line, dragging with them an unconscious Pixie Bob who was bleeding from the temple, a strained look on her face even as she was dead to the world. The two remaining Pussycats in the clearing immediately moved to stand in front of the students that had not yet left on the test of courage, muscles tensed and ready for action.

Test of courage, indeed.

Mineta shrieked about the security of the campsite, while the other classmates tensed and froze in their places. Even Rei was caught off guard, though seeing Mandalay step in front of her made her instinctively unleash her claws as a precautionary defense. No one knew what the quirks of their enemies were, and it couldn't do any harm to her to be prepared.

Villains, again. How many times did that make now?

Even worse was Rei's condition, so physically exhausted from the past two days that she tried to swallow her fears even though her throat and mouth were completely dry and suddenly parched. There were few situations where things could be worse. She wasn't incapable of fighting to defend herself, but if the villains were out for blood…

Then blood would indeed be spilt this night.

No, she had to pull herself together. Hadn't this been the purpose of her training? To push herself and to be able to fight in the face of certain failure against those earth creatures? She had to believe in herself and the others. If she lost hope now, then the entire battle was already over before it began.

Suddenly, Midoriya gasped sharply next to Rei. "Kota-kun!"

"Kota?" Rei's brow furrowed for a moment as she looked at him before it dawned on her, the lightbulb going off in her head as well. "The boy, right?"

"How are you this evening, U.A. High School?" There was no space or time for Midoriya to answer as one of the villains began to speak in a grandiose manner, drawing everyone's attention and focus as he flung out an arm dramatically. Frowning, Rei's nose crinkled for a moment as she took in the two new faces. One was a rather regular looking individual with near shoulder length red hair and glasses on their face, their physical prowess quite lacking when considering physical conditioning and appearances. That could only mean that their quirk was quite dangerous and didn't require an extreme amount of physicality to use it, and as Rei's eyes flickered to Pixie Bob's body on the floor she could only guess that it had been this person's doing. As for the other villain…

A lizard? Was that really a talking lizard in front of her?

Of course, Tokage from 1-B had lizard like qualities but this was on a completely different level. Perhaps more on par with the president, although at least the president was much more physically appealing as a deceptively soft and cuddly looking teddy bear.

No, this wasn't the time for that. What did matter most thought was that his physical appearance other than his green, scaly, skin was reminiscent of something that Rei had seen before. His attire certain reminded her of something, although she couldn't quite place it in the moment.

Regardless, the lizard continue to speak, much to the remaining students' surprise. "We are the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains!"

"The League of Villains?"

"Why are they here?"

Rei's frown deepened. So the League of Villains was on the move again, and now they were calling themselves something that was way too much of a mouthful to be convenient. But now wasn't the time to be considering acronyms. Did this mean that that blue haired kid leader was here as well?

"Shall I crush this girl's head? What do you think?" The red haired person spoke, and immediately a shiver of revile shook Rei, lips turning up into a snarl. Both of these villains were clearly not right in the head, what with the way that they spoke both so carelessly and frivolously simultaneously. They acted as though they held the students and the heroes right where they wanted them.

And perhaps they did.

Tiger growled, fists ready to fight. "How dare you-"

Surprisingly the lizard stood in front of the group, turning his attention away from the heroes to look back at his partner. "Wait wait wait, Big Sis Mag. Don't be hasty! You too, Tiger." With a grin on his face, he looked back to the larger group. "It all depends on whether having power over life and death follows Stain's tenets or not."

Stain. So that was the familiar sensation that Rei had felt. This villain, however, barely even had a fraction of the sheer intimidation and power that Rei had experienced first hand under Stain's boot. He was a copy, no doubt, a follower and perhaps a clone that had been created from the hero killer's legacy. Dangerous, but missing the lethality that oozed from the real hero killer's bloodied knives. The rest of the class immediately lit up at the reminder of Stain, Iida in particular looking rather agitated. "So you are the ones who have spawned from his legacy!"

"Oh, that's right. You, with the glasses!" The lizard pointed to Iida, who refused to shirk away at the attention from the villain. "You were the one who brought about the end of Stain at Hosu City. I apologize for the late introduction." Heaving a covered bundle from his back, he lifted the package over his head, letting the cloth fall away to reveal an amalgamation of swords that were tied together rather precariously with a few leather strips, a sword constructed of smaller blades that looked simultaneously ridiculous, dangerous, and intimidating. "My name is Spinner! I'm the one who will spin his dreams into a reality!"

Rei tensed as Tiger walked forward, shoulders squared and aura oozing lethality to match the sudden reveal of weapons. "I don't care, but you bastards… You can't just damage that woman's face and stand there laughing carelessly about it!"

If not for the fact that Tiger was seriously riled, his words would have been almost amusing to Rei in any other situation. But instead she watched as Spinner dashed forward, grinning and licking his lips in anticipation. "What's a hero doing trying to be happy like the average person?!"

"I've broadcast the instructions to the students. Leave the safety of the other students to Ragdoll! The two of us will hold them back here!"

Mandalay stepped forward next to Tiger, casting one final glance back to Iida in particular. "Listen closely. Do not fight. Class rep, you're in charge!"

"Yes, I understand!"

Iida began leading the group back toward the dorm building, Rei following for a few steps before noticing that Midoriya hadn't moved. Stopping next to her partner, she looked at him in confusion. "Midoriya?"

The two of them shared a glance, Rei reading the uncertainty that bounced back and forth in his eyes. He was terrible at hiding his thoughts sometimes, looking to Rei with the question he truly wanted to ask lingering at the back, unwilling to voice it completely. But some things Rei understood without words; she knew Midoriya's type. He hadn't mentioned Kota for no reason. There was a reason why he had been watching Mandalay so carefully.

Nodding in support, she remained by his side as the two of them looked back to Iida. "You go on ahead!"

"What? Midoriya-"

"Mandalay!" Brown hair shifted even from underneath her visor as she turned ever so slightly to look at the two students still behind her, unwilling to completely turn away from the enemy but unwilling to ignore the green haired boy behind her. Placing a hand to his chest, Midoriya spoke in a lowly, but rushed tone of voice. "I know where he is!"

Hesitant, she chanced a look back to the villains before her. Rei stepped up to the plate, placing a hand on Midoriya's shoulder. "Let the two of us go. Midoriya is fast enough to get there. If something goes wrong, I'll bail him out. We'll avoid combat when possible."

It was clear that her morals and ethical code as a pro hero was telling her to turn them down, to tell them to run back to the camp as fast as possible and never look back. She was supposed to make them run to safety, to take care of themselves. But a sliver of her couldn't hide her fear for Kota, the concern she felt for her own blood and family.

Eyes narrowed, as she talked in a lowly voice. "If it comes to it, I grant you permission to defend yourselves. Avoid combat and get back to the camp with him as fast as possible."

Midoriya and Rei nodded solemnly, turning on their heel sharply and taking off. Iida had opened his mouth, but Rei took over. "Go without us. We'll avoid combat, so don't worry about us, class rep."

Neither of them gave him a chance to respond, taking off into the forest. As soon as they disappeared from their friends' line of sight, Midoriya looked to Rei in concern. "Tsuki-chan, your injury…"

"I'm coming because if something happens, you'll need back up. We're weak from training for the past two days, and Iida needs to take the rest of our class back to safety. Sorry," she looked at him with a wry smile on her lips, though it was devoid of any humor, "but you'll have to deal with me."

Hesitating for a moment before nodding, he accepted her words. "I need to use Full Cowling to get there. Can you keep up?"

Rei lowered her gaze for a moment, chewing the inside of her cheek in thought before her eyes lit up. "Can you make your landings hard?"

"Huh?"

She gave him no time to question, almost speaking right over him. "When you use Full Cowling, you burst forward before landing. If you can create damage to the ground every so often when you land, you'll leave me a way to follow your trail. Travel in a straight line, and I'll be able to follow you."

It wasn't much of a plan, but Midoriya nodded. "Right. You can count on me."

"Then go ahead. I'll catch up as fast as I can."

Midoriya needed no further directions, powering up and taking off as fast as he could. Taking off after him, Rei watched as his glowing figure began to get further and further ahead of her, even as she hurried as fast as she could. If she had been at full power she probably could have kept a relatively good pace and at least have kept him within sight, but with her injured leg she would have to settle for being a little slower than usual. If all went well, then they would encounter no enemies and they would be back to camp in no time with Kota safely with them.

If all went well. Sending a prayer to whatever gods existed above, Rei prayed for them to all survive the night.

* * *

"SMASH!"

Rei had just made it to the bottom of the massive hill, looking upward at the sudden, familiar cry and voice that sounded from above. In the split second that she had stopped to identify Midoriya's location a massive explosion resounded from high above her head, making her wince and raise a hand to her head as she watched the rubble scattering in all directions from the force of the blow.

It was then, looking up in that direction, that she saw a small body fly into the air and over the edge of the mountain. Even at the high distance she recognized the familiar red hat, putting two and two together.

Midoriya wasn't one to go out looking for fights. If he was fighting now, then a villain had crossed his path and he had determined that there was no option but to fight in self defense. Which then likely meant…

That he had found Kota.

Gritting her teeth, Rei crouching low before bursting into the air, quickly calculating her trajectory and that of her intended target that was beginning to fall. Fortunately she wasn't far from Kota's fall, rocketing up from the bottom and snagging his arms while pulling him toward her in order to try and protect him from complete whiplash from the sudden direction change. He naturally wrapped his arms around her torso, clinging to her tightly and trembling in fear. With every muscle in her body she braced herself for the collision into the mountain face, holding onto Kota with one arm while extending the claws with her other and digging into the rock in an attempt to slow her descent.

It was difficult work trying to ensure that Kota remained intact and unharmed. In protecting the young boy all of the impact of colliding with the hillside had been distributed into her right hand and her knees and feet, making her wince and cry out a bit from the pain at the blow. Her knees would definitely be bruised for a while, but she had gotten the job done. Slowing her descent, she eventually hopped down to the ground, crouching slowly and placing Kota back onto his feet with a groan from the exertion.

For a moment he barely seemed to register the fact that he was back on land. But as Rei released him, patiently waiting for him to let go, he slowly began to back away, lifting a teary eyed expression to look up at his rescuer in fear and in confusion.

"Are you alright?"

Rei's voice was low and quiet, but it seemed to break Kota from his shock as he looked back around him and to the dust cloud that still hadn't settled. Frowning, Rei stood up again, walking forward to the impact zone and narrowing her eyes as she tried to look through the dust that clouded her vision. "Midoriya?"

The outline of a person appeared a few feet away, and Rei braced herself for a moment before recognizing the familiar outline of messy hair and muscular shoulders. Midoriya stepped out and into the fresh air, breathing heavily as he looked backwards and over his shoulder, in the direction that Rei assumed was the enemy. Breathing in and out steadily, she called his name again, please when he seemed to register her voice this time and recognition lit his eyes. "Midoriya."

"Kota-kun…"

"He's here." Stepping to the side, she hadn't realized that she had been blocking Midoriya's line of sight to the young boy. Upon taking in the child's figure and realizing that they were both safe, Midoriya sighed in relief. "Thank goodness."

It was then that Rei took in Midoriya's arm, hanging limply at his side and a motley assortment of colors. Her stomach twisted, and it took all her will to not get physically sick upon sight. "Your arm…"

"I'll be fine. We have to get back to camp-"

An explosion rocked the earth. Rei watched as the blood drained from Midoriya's face. She was certain that she had a similar look to his as she slowly turned back toward the scene of destruction. From the ashes, dust, and debris she could make out a pair of hands that were reaching out of the wall, red ribbons unnaturally waving in the air and shrinking back into the muscular arms that took form.

It was then that she realized what she was seeing.

Those weren't ribbons.

Those were muscle fibers.

A hulking figure of a man appeared from the mess, hunched over as the muscles retracted back into his body from every angle. Midoriya had frozen in fear, Rei moving to stand next to him in a shallow stance and in front of Kota. They had come this far for him, the entire reason why they had disobeyed Mandalay's orders for everyone and had instead convinced her to let them go into the unknown wilderness. Tossing a glance back she could see that the boy was likewise frozen in place, horror reflected in his wide eyes as tears had already begun to fall.

They should have run immediately. There was still time.

And then, there wasn't.

The villain turned his head slightly to look out of the corner of his eye at Midoriya, a wicked grin on his face. "That punch was too obvious. But that wasn't bad, Midoriya!"

Rei startled. The villain knew her classmate's name? How was that? Midoriya wasn't foolish enough to go spouting his name to villains on the fly.

"Huh?"

One whole eye landed on Rei.

As the villain's face lit up in excitement and he began taking slow and steady steps in their small group's direction, Rei's gut inexplicably dropped in horror.

"Oh, it's you! Such a shame, you didn't show up to play earlier."

To Rei's surprise, Midoriya stepped in front of her, shielding her with half his body. "Get away from them!"

"Nah. All of a sudden, I feel like attacking for real."

"What are you trying to do? What is the League of Villains after?"

"Who cares? I just want to fight."

Rei stepped closer to Midoriya, whispering into his ear. "Midoriya, you need to take Kota. You're faster than I am."

He turned his head halfway to look at Rei, surprise on his face. "Tsuki-chan…"

"I'm going to pass him to you, and you need to run. Final decision."

"Hey what are you two whispering about?" The villain continued his slow stalking forward, pulling something out of his pocket. "Not like it matters. Do you remember what I said before? Up until now, we were just playing. Right? Didn't I say that, Midoriya?" The tendrils of flesh were beginning to emerge from tanned flesh, much to Rei's disgust. Was this an aspect of his quirk? What a stupid question; of course it was. The only question for her was what exactly his quirk did.

Midoriya had landed a full power hit on the villain, as a testament to his now shattered arm at his side. Clearly, somehow, the villain had survived. The muscles had something to do with it. Was it a power up type quirk?

"But now I'm done."

The anger and passion was gone, his voice devoid of emotion. Rei tensed, getting ready to move. Taking a step backward, she knelt down next to Kota, grabbing his hand steadily while she winced at the pain from having to lower herself to the ground. Her quad was screaming from the exertion, no matter how careful she had tried to be on her fast procession to this place. But she ignored her own pain, forcing Kota to look at her.

"You're going to get on Midoriya's back, and he's going to get you out of here. Understand?" All she received was a tearful nod that seemed half aware of his surroundings, but it was enough.

"Playtime's over," the villain announced solemnly. "You're pretty strong. I'm going to look at you seriously now."

Rei grit her teeth, preparing for her own escape as she yanked Kota forward. "Midoriya, now!"

"Kota! Grab on!"

It had happened not a moment too soon, Midoriya taking off in the split second that he felt Kota's small arms wrap around his neck, grabbing the boy's legs as he launched himself into the air and over the villain's shoulder in the blink of an eye. Rei managed to jump into the cliffside again, taking a wider route around the villain and toward the back. Running alongside the wall she felt her adrenaline rising again, threatening to take over her rational mind and send her into a frenzied mode. Taking in a deep breath and exhaling slowly she tried to calm her mind. Frantic minds led to accidents.

She felt the shift before she could fully comprehend it. Her reaction had been completely involuntary, a sixth sense telling her body to move and jumping the circuit for her rational mind before she could make the call. All she knew was that she had twisted her body to flip over her shoulder, right as a hand crushed the wall where her torso had just been. Eyes widened at the vision of red fibers that suddenly took over her vision, and in that moment her normal reactions took over, getting her to flip away and back off as quickly as she could. Hearing a mouthful of swearing from the villain she realized that he had almost taken her out with one punch, fist now stuck in the wall from the impact and overuse of his strength.

Making a quick retreat she found Midoriya and Kota lying on the ground not too much further away, having apparently been knocked out of the air most likely by the debris and large chunks of rocks that had been sent flying in the onslaught. Dropping between the two she checked over Kota first, quickly scanning over his vitals and thankfully finding that he only had a few scratches on him, most likely having been saved by the beaten up boy that was a foot to Rei's left. She had just shifted over to him when he pulled himself into a crouch, eyes trained on the villain in front of them.

"Midoriya-"

Ignoring her call, Midoriya stood up to his full height, Rei looking at him in concern. His condition was quickly deteriorating; she could see it in the way that he shook when he stood, his muscles on the verge of overuse. Yet he kept pushing forward, squaring his shoulders confidently as the two behind him looked in awe.

How? And why? It was when Rei lowered her gaze to the side that she knew why.

He was putting on a brave face for Kota, as heroes did.

Swallowing her fear and her urge to yell at him to run back to camp so that he could get his wounds looked at, Rei stood behind him as she watched the villain turn his gaze back onto the trio.

"Stay back, Kota, Akatsuki. When it hits, run back to the camp as soon as possible."

"'When it hits…?' Don't tell me you're actually-"

"Midoriya, your arms-"

"It's fine."

Kota and Rei were stunned into silence as Midoriya began powering his quirk up again, sparks of light dancing around him furiously as he summoned Full Cowling. Even as she stood behind him she could feel his emotional turmoil, his surge of passion and bravery, his dedication and fury. Even as the villain began to advance toward him and Midoriya stuttered into a run of his own, Rei for the first time had hope.

But the villain slammed his fists together in front of him, creating an additional barrier of muscle as Midoriya delivered his punch, regardless. Rei's eyes widened in horror, realizing that even with Midoriya's full power, if he had failed to subdue the villain before with his full attack, then it would be nigh impossible to break through the first line of defense.

The two collided, suddenly at an impasse as both of them stopped in their tracks. Then, the muscles began to swelter and grow at a skyrocketing pace, threatening to consume Midoriya himself in their embrace and break him from every angle. Pressing down on the high school boy, Rei watched as her friend began to break, sinking into the ground.

Her classmate.

Her friend.

"MIDORIYA!"

Her legs moved before her mind.

It was different from the previous moment not long before when her sixth sense had protected her from injury. This wasn't like that moment where her body had twisted in a fashion she wouldn't have considered in the moment if she had been clearly thinking, where she had scraped by and narrowly escaped an untimely end. In this moment it was her emotions, her desperation that drove her forward in the impossible moment, running toward the danger itself.

Launching high into the air with a scream, she extended her claws as far as they could and sank them deep into the mass of flesh like a knife through warm butter.

She could hear the villain scream in pain, but the sound quickly morphed into laughter. "More! More! You can join in too! Let me see your blood!"

Rei didn't care any longer. Not Midoriya. She pulled out her claws just to sink them into a different spot, trying to get a hold on his body. "Let go of him!"

Slowly, the villain continued to push down on top of the green haired boy, completely ignoring Rei for the time being. She frantically tore at the muscular tissue that continued to swelter and regenerate, like a frenzied creature consumed by the fight. But still she could feel the villain pressuring Midoriya beneath him, crushing his body with every ounce of pressure he added.

A hot tear streaked out of her eye, flying off of her face from all the wind and force that was generated. It didn't even have time to roll down her cheek. "Let him go!"

But just as she was in a frenzied craze to ease the weight off of her friend's slowly breaking body, the monster beneath her claws was all too consumed in his bloodlust to destroy the boy beneath him. "I'm gonna crush you!"

"No!" The pressure suddenly stopped, the villain slowly lifting himself up from the ground.

This couldn't be.

"MIDORIYA!"

"And now it's your turn!"

The muscles beneath her hands began to shift, growing in a new direction as the core body beneath the tangled mess began to shift once more. The fact that Rei was the next target registered far in the back of her mind, too far for her to act upon and jump away and out of reach and harm's way. She was still focused on Midoriya, or the concept of him that was suffocated by the monster that literally stood between the two.

She was next.

Water sprayed onto the scene, out of nowhere.

The droplets barely made it to her position, but the sensation was enough to get her to jump back to her senses and provide her with the opportunity to back off. Fleeing the villain's back and staggering away from his impossibly massive frame, she stared in horror at the sight in front of her. Was the thing in front of her even human at this point?

But her mind snapped back to the present, fully alert and comprehending the situation with such startling clarity that it shocked her entire system.

"Stop it!"

Kota's voice echoed in the sudden silence that had spread across the hill, Rei beginning to panic. Kota hadn't run away, after what they had told him to do, after everything that had happened. And now, with Midoriya crushed into the ground and with the villain standing in between her and her intended target, there was little that Rei could do.

No, there was something she could do. There was always a choice. Tensing her muscles, she ran up the hillside quickly, making her way back to the young boy in a last ditch effort to place herself between him and the villain. She wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't try. Even if she didn't make it, it was better than giving in completely. Legs pumping, muscles straining and seizing, golden eyes settled on Kota. She would make it. She had to.

The villain had begun saying something to the boy, but had stopped mid sentence. The familiar sound of Full Cowling's sparks made it to Rei's ears, and despite everything she sighed in relief, a ghost of a smile on her face.

"As if I would let you do such a thing!"

Rei had made it in front of Kota just as Midoriya rose from the crumbling debris, superhuman strength radiating from every pore of his body as he began to push the villain away. She didn't have time to take another look, instead landing in front of Kota and pulling him in to her body, shielding him from the inevitable impact and chaos she knew would be unleashed.

Chaos indeed. The ground shook, the wind whipped around, and more debris began to fly with explosive intent. From the place where the villain collided into the hillside more rocks came loose, rocketing away from the epicenter with astonishing speed. As Rei dared to look over her shoulder a rock flew past her face, slicing her cheek open as she grunted from the pain, turning away once more to protect herself. It had been foolish, but for a moment she had seen Midoriya still poised from the blow, a snapshot frozen in her mind as the impossible had been overcome.

The improbable, the impossible, the unlikely. Whatever word was used, it was clear that it had been conquered after a long struggle and a final, ultimate blow that had the world shaking in the aftermath.

Even if the villain had survived Midoriya's first two blows, Rei knew in her heart that this was the final blow for him.

They had survived.

When the winds had finally died down and the ground had stopped in its tremors, Rei finally released Kota from her grasp. His face was completely shocked as he looked up at her in horror. With a sigh of relief after another quick look over his physical conditions, she offered a small smile. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yeah…" Wiping his nose as he sniffled, he peered around Rei to look for his other rescuer. Rei followed his gaze, turning to see the victor, the last man standing.

His remaining hand clenched, Midoriya lifted his head to the heavens.

He unleashed a scream.

It was partially from the pain, partially from the victory. There were a multitude of emotions swirling, though looking at the fact that Midoriya was still standing despite his wounds, it was more likely that he didn't realize the full state he was in. Mind racing, Rei looked around them as she took in their status as a unit.

Midoriya was strictly running on adrenaline from his fight and from heightened emotions, especially concerning saving Kota. His arm was in a shattered state, and would definitely require immediate medical attention. Though the rest of him looked to be in decent condition at a first glance, Rei knew that after a few days of intensive training intended to bring them to their knees, the rest of him would be doing poorly as well. He had most likely torn a few muscles as well from the exertion, and would suffer from extreme muscle fatigue later on. Add on other factors such as dehydration or blood loss, as he had multiple nicks and cuts as well as a head wound, he was in for a world of hurt later.

But instead he staggered for one step, barely catching himself and keeping his balance. At least Kota would be relatively alright. He might have sustained some minor head trauma from being tossed around, but Midoriya and she had protected him from the brunt of the force. Of all of them, Kota was the most alright, and even that wasn't a given without a proper diagnosis from a medical team.

That left Rei. She was certain that her quad had been injured further, and was likely reduced to the state of the original tear if not worse. She had been battered by most of the debris as she had sheltered Kota, but the worst of it that she could immediately tell was the cut on her cheek that was continuing to bleed. It wasn't terribly deep or life threatening, but it stung like hell when mixed with the sweat that was dripping down her forehead. Wincing, she tried not to touch it too much, trying to let the platelets in her blood work to stop the bleeding as fast as possible.

They were a mess. A right mess, but alive. And that was something to be thankful for.

Standing up as quickly and carefully as possible, Rei walked over to Midoriya, standing before him. "Midoriya, can you stand?"

"It's fine," he managed to grind out, breathing hard from the exertion. He looked ready to pass out, but something was keeping him connected to this world. "There's something I still have to do."

Rei's eyes narrowed, but she suddenly turned as Kota ran up to the two of them. "You're all beat up? What could you possible still have to do?"

"He's right," Rei tagged on, still holding her arms out just in case Midoriya needed her to steady him. "We need to get out of here. You're in no condition…"

"Even though I knew he was going to defend, I had to attack." The boy began muttering, his mind clouded as his eyes glazed over. He was already retreating into his headspace, and Rei was helpless to do anything. "But he's a much stronger villain that I thought he was. If all the villains from this night attack are this strong, then everyone is in danger."

Understanding dawned on Rei. "We need to tell Mandalay and warn everyone."

"But on top of that," he hesitated, hunching over for a moment before managing to lift his head, green eyes meeting gold, "they might be after the students." There was something hidden in his eyes, making Rei suspicious that he wasn't telling her everything that he knew, but he lowered his head again for a moment before sucking in a breath and standing up a bit straighter. "If I can save someone by moving, then I have to move, don't I?"

Shaking her head, Rei breathed out a steady sigh, pushing her breath through her lips and taking a moment to release the tension. Midoriya was clearly in no condition to continue. He was on the verge of deliriousness-no, he was delirious, at this point-and he needed help. Rolling her shoulders back, she nodded at him.

"Leave it to me. Can you carry Kota?"

It was like he was seeing Rei for the first time, green eyes staring at her for a moment before he nodded his head. "Yeah. I can do that."

"Then you take him back to camp and to Aizawa-sensei and safety. I'll take the message to Mandalay. You're in no condition to continue moving. You shouldn't even be standing right now."

"Akatsuki, I'm fine." It was in that sentence that she knew he wasn't fine. He had returned to calling her by her full last name, instead of using Tsuki like most of her companions in class had started doing. But she held her tongue, instead nodding in assent.

"Tell me the exact message I need to give to Mandalay."

He hesitated, immediately making Rei suspicious again. But he acquiesced. "Tell Mandalay that Kota is safe, and that the villains might be targeting the students."

Nodding her head, Rei committed it to memory, a solemn look on her face. "Got it." Turning to Kota, she knelt down next to him again, placing herself on his level. "Will you be alright?"

"Yeah."

"Good man. Make sure Midoriya doesn't do anything else stupid, alright? I leave him in your hands."

"O-okay."

With one final smile she stood up, leveling Midoriya with one final glare. "Don't do anything stupid. We've done enough damage for one night."

"R-right." Rei squinted at Midoriya, daring him to disobey her before turning one final time, preparing to launch herself off the cliff. "Akatsuki!"

Pausing, she turned her head to look at him again. Poor Midoriya, in terrible condition. His eyes were drooping, muscles trembling. He looked like a poor animal that had been left out in the rain without shelter, a terribly sorry sight. But the look he gave her was unsettling, as though he was trying to decide if he was going to tell her something or not. "Be careful out there."

His words were laced with hidden meanings, but there was no time to waste. Narrowing her eyes one last time she nodded solemnly, then blasted off the cliff into the foliage below.

She had a mission, a message to deliver. And she would be damned if they lost, after everything they had been through.

* * *

AN: Ahh, finally back into the action. I'm not the best at writing gushy mushy, touchy feely sort of romance, so getting back into the fighting is so much better for me.

Not gonna lie, writing some of the future chapters is getting difficult for me. I don't know if it's just a mental block or something else? In any case, I do still love this story, but writing is coming a little more slowly. I have to figure out how to beef some chapters, since I don't want to just condense them. However, I am feeling a lot better since I took a writing break, so I'm still taking care of myself but forcing myself to write for this story as well. It's going well so far!

I'm actually a little excited and a little nervous to see what people think of the next four or so chapters, so please look forward to it! There are a couple concepts that I'm still debating and I might change, but we'll see what happens.

**Review Time!**

**dragontamer64: **Not gonna lie, it was hard trying to figure out what sort of training Rei would do. When I was rewatching the anime, I was reminded that the core was to strengthen their quirks, so I had to figure out just what that meant for her. I decided on going with regeneration, since we've already done stamina training with Chirasaki. I'm glad you're enjoying it! And I do love Rei and Momo's friendship as well. I think in the future, I'll begin expanding the friend group to include more of the girls, but that's way in the future, so we'll see!

**ILikeFoxes828:** Thank you for your kind words, and thank you for always reviewing constantly! I really appreciate it a lot. I'm doing a lot better now, and even though it's a little difficult to write still I'm definitely in a better place.

**Dear Apollo:** I hope this training arc is living up to expectations so far! Thanks so much for all your reviews as well!

**Alexcupcake:** Thank you! Rei has been a character in the making for a while, so it's been really interesting for me as the writer to also see how she develops.

**Kiku-Pyon:** Ahh, thank you for such a long review, and I'm glad you've binged this story! Truthfully, I need to reread it myself (to get a refresher on what has happened and to catch more grammar errors), and I didn't realize that I've actually written quite a bit... But yet, articulating which arcs Rei will be in and how involved she'll be is a pretty big deal for me, as I'm sure you'll see in future chapters as well. And friendship is very important and the basis of all relationships! That's why this is taking so long, lol. I will definitely take your comment about involving Uraraka more and think about it!

**pupstarstar:** Thank you for the review! I'm glad you love this story so far, and I hope that you'll also enjoy the upcoming chapters as well!

**Please review if you're enjoying this story! **

**I really appreciate it and I do my best to respond as well.**


	27. Training Camp (Part 3)

Chapter 27

Training Camp (Part 3)

* * *

If Rei had thought that camp was difficult, she was now being put to the test in a whole new manner. It was now that she was thoroughly convinced that the concept of fatigue was mostly a mental game, and if one had a strong enough mind then they could be strong enough to overcome their exhaustion.

By all means, she should have been wiped out, should have passed out long ago. Not just physically, but emotionally from escaping a close encounter with another villain. During her run through the forest she had to convince herself that she wasn't any of those things, that she was fresh and ready to begin the next challenge. The adrenaline hadn't worn off yet, which helped in the effort. That, and the scent of burning wood in the forest kept her senses sharp and ready, mind on high alert as she navigated through the darkness.

She was fortunate that she had heightened vision in low light, able to easily navigate the forest and look for enemies on the prowl. They still had no idea how many villains were on site in the forest and lingering around, looking for their next prey. Face set in a permanent frown and scowl, Rei booked it as fast as she could with torn quadricep. She had to get back to the clearing where Mandalay had been.

She wondered what had happened to the others that had gone on the test of courage before the rest of Class A, those who had been on the moonlit dirt path in the middle of nowhere, as well as what happened to Class B, who had been hiding along the trails. She could only hope that nothing serious had happened, that they all had escaped unscathed and were on the way back to the main campsite where Aizawa-sensei and Vlad-sensei had been teaching the remedial classes to those who had failed the exam. A piece of her knew that her classmates were smart and resourceful enough to know how to survive and hold their own in a combat situation, but that didn't stop her from worrying.

It was the reason why she pushed on in spite of her injury telling her to slow down and stop.

Rei heard the sounds of fighting before she could see it, and she knew that she was getting close. Slowing down before she burst into the arena, she stopped within the treeline, looking out at the battlefield and taking in the scene before interrupting and drawing attention to herself. Tiger and Mandalay were still fighting against the two villains that had appeared before them, the red haired villain and the Stain imposter. Maneuvering so that she was far enough away to not be a potential target, she burst onto the scene. "Mandalay, can you hear me?"

The woman turned to glance at the person who had called her name, surprised to see a student back at the site. But Rei didn't give her a chance to admonish her, shouting out her message as she watched the battle carefully. "Kota is safe and back at camp. We found out that-"

"Mandalay!"

If Rei could tear his head off, she would. Bursting onto the scene with little physical awareness of the situation, it was none other than Midoriya who hurtled through the air, grabbing almost everyone's attention as he stole the spotlight. "Kota's okay!"

"You-"

Rei glowered, growling at her classmate and barking out his name sharply. "Midoriya!"

He didn't seem to hear her, instead barely landing on his feet and skidding away, Full Cowling still activated and bursting around his feet. "And here's a message from Aizawa-sensei to tell everyone with Telepath! Everyone from Class A and B, in the name of Pro Hero Eraserhead, you are granted permission to engage in combat!"

Rei had begun running around the perimeter, intent on reaching Midoriya so that she could drive him back to camp. He was clearly almost hysterical, eyes too wide and his movements too careless and sloppy. But as soon as he relayed the message from Eraserhead she nearly tripped, stumbling for a moment before continuing to run to catch up, her eyes wide. _Aizawa-sensei allowed what? _

"You, return to camp now! Those injuries aren't normal!"

"I'm sorry!" Full Cowling lit up once more, and Rei's eyes widened as she sprinted forward, running parallel to Midoriya now that he was beginning to run away from the fight. "Please tell everyone one more thing. The villains… at least one of their targets… is Kacchan!"

This time Rei let out a gasp in shock. Bakugou? Was at the center of this somehow?

What in the world was going on?

It was clear that Mandalay was confused as she shouted after Midoriya to explain, but he vanished into the forest. Rei darted after him, calling his name. It looked like this was up to her from here on out; her green haired classmate was clearly running on adrenaline from his injuries, and wouldn't listen to logic no matter how loud anyone screamed in his face. Mandalay and Tiger were still fighting away in the clearing, with no clear winner established yet as both parties seemed fairly beaten. No, this was up to Rei now, even if she herself wasn't suited for the task.

Someone had to take care of the broken idiot running ahead of her.

Midoriya was unable to think clearly. But as much as Rei was ready to send him back, she now knew what had kept him moving forward. If this attack had something to do with Bakugou and the explosive boy was in trouble, then Midoriya wouldn't stand for it, rivals who tore at one another's throats or not. The ball had already begun to roll down a steep hill, and until a resolution came Midoriya would continue to chase the trail as long as he had energy in his bones.

And as much as Rei knew that she should have gone back to the camp as well, she was metaphorically torn inside. Torn because she didn't want to leave Midoriya in the forest on his own, not when he was severely injured and could come across another villain at any moment now. Her honor and her conscience wouldn't let her do such a thing. Additionally, they had one thing in common right now; Bakugou was on their minds, and Rei would be damned if she didn't do something to help him out. Even if he didn't need her help, even if he complained about it later and chewed her ear off, she wouldn't leave him alone.

He was too precious for Rei, and she wouldn't let him struggle on his own.

"Midoriya!"

She could see his sparking body begin to slow down ahead of her, recognizing her voice as he came to a full halt and turned around. "Akatsuki?"

But Rei kept moving, brushing past him as she hobbled along, trying to keep her gait and pace as steady and fast as possible, urgency moving her along. Glowering at her classmate, she barked back at him. "If you're going to keep moving, then at least keep up with me!"

"R-right!"

He seemed surprised that she was moving alongside him now, and for good reason. Not a few minutes earlier she had been ready to tear his head off if he so much as moved another muscle. The look was still on her face, but now she looked to be scheming, a dark look over her face. "I hope you have a plan."

"I have to get to Kacchan-"

"That's not a plan, Midoriya!"

So astonished at Rei's sharp bite in her voice, the green haired boy fell silent as they continued into the forest. Deeper and deeper they went, running along as best as they can. The only sound for a while was the sound of their heavy breathing and their footsteps pounding against the packed dirt floor of the forest, as well as distant sounds of fire crackling and consuming the forest. Not an hour prior there had been shrieks of good nature in the spirit of camp traditions. Now they could only pray for the silence and crackling fire to be the only sounds filling the air, for fear of something happening to their friends.

Restraining her anger, Rei swallowed her frustrations at how little Midoriya was thinking. Clearly she would need to do some of the processing, now that he was too flustered and out of commission to be thinking straight. Looking forward toward their path, she spoke to him in a more level tone. "Listen. You've been told to go back to camp multiple times. If it comes down to it, if you prove that you're unable to think clearly, I'll knock you out and walk you back myself, and we'll both be doing some we don't want to do, understand?"

"Y-yeah."

"So think clearly, Midoriya. What is the plan? Bakugou and Todoroki started second in the test of courage, which means that they should have passed the halfway point and had started on their way back to the beginning. Prove to me you can still stand."

He thought for a moment before nodding his head. "This way!" Darting ahead and taking the lead ever so slightly, Rei allowed him to shift their path toward the right as soon as the walkway split. Behind him so that he couldn't see her expression, she smiled ever so slightly. Good. At least he had enough wits about him to logically predict Bakugou's position within a respectable margin of error.

He had passed Rei's first test, but there would be more to come. If at any point he proved himself to be less than coherent she would knock him unconscious and take him back herself, her legs and his broken arms be damned. She had told Midoriya that neither of them wanted that; they both wanted to reach Bakugou, for various reasons that were also somehow intertwined and similar at their cores. But if it came down to it, she would rescue her current and only classmate that she had on her hands. Logically, it was better to minimize casualties, even if it meant sacrificing some others.

She sincerely hoped that it wouldn't come down to that, but the thought lingered in her mind.

The needs of the many outweighed the needs of the few. It was a part of hero training. Try as they might, they couldn't save everyone.

But, in this moment, they could try, as long as the opportunity was still there.

So they kept running toward their destination, Rei keeping a careful eye on Midoriya without him realizing it. They would do what they could with the time given them.

Rei had heard it before either of the two of them saw it coming. Something was almost clumsily knocking around in the forest, colliding with trees and breaking down the environment around it. She at least knew it was a singular figure, as there wasn't any sort of fight going on, and she frowned in contemplation as she tried to figure out if it was a villain. Surely a villain wouldn't be so sloppy in giving away their position like this. But suddenly something began snaking out, weaving from the central position and traveling quite quickly toward them-

She saw it before Midoriya, but only a moment earlier. Leaping forward she did the only thing she could, her hand latching around his ankle and pulling him to the ground in one fell swoop. He landed face first, hands dangling uselessly at his sides and unable to support him as he fell with a yelp, but Rei was in a similar situation, as her momentum had continued flying forward and she hadn't had the time to bring her hand up to soften the landing. At least she had known what she was doing, turning her head to the side so she didn't crush her nose. The duo hit the ground just in time to miss a massive flying blurb fly over their heads, Rei unable to properly identify it as it retracted once more.

Opening her eyes and staring at the side, golden eyes widened as they landed on a familiar figure, her own eyes meeting another pair that she hadn't seen for hours. He lifted a finger to his lips, gesturing for her to be silent as he crawled over toward them, scooping Midoriya up in his appendages and creating a sort of cocoon as they crouched in the underbrush. Midoriya was too stunned from the fall to feel any pain as Shoji scooped him up, only recognizing his surroundings after the trio had taken shelter behind a particularly large tree surrounded by dense brush.

At least Midoriya was coherent enough to recognize his friend. Green eyes lit up. "Shoji-kun!"

"Shh." Rei put a finger to her lips, mimicking the one Shoji had given her as she gestured for Midoriya to lower his voice. Green eyes widened but clearly listened to her warning, piping down immediately. Damn it, why couldn't Midoriya have listened to anything else that she said and gone back to Aizawa-sensei?!

"With those injuries, you shouldn't be moving anymore should you, Midoriya? You're only thinking of saving your friend. What are we going to do with you?"

"There's no use in telling him that, Shoji." In any other situation Rei would have found it amusing that almost everyone in their class could read Midoriya as light as day. But instead, Rei's eyes traveled down to their most recent addition to their group and their classmate's free appendage, noting the blood that was still dripping. Concern alit her features at seeing her classmate's injury, though it at least looked as though the bleeding was slowing down. "Besides, you're one to talk."

"Shoji-kun, what happened?"

"As soon as we heard Mandalay's Telepath, we went on alert. It was right after that that we were ambushed by a villain. Even though I was cut I covered both of us under the foliage."

"Your arm…" Midoriya finally realized that Shoji was bleeding, one of the usual limbs where an appendage typically sprouted cut short as a nub. Rei frowned, looking down at the limb. Even if he said that it wasn't a big deal, it didn't seem like that was the case. However…

"Even though it's not a shallow cut, it's not lost forever." Shoji went into more detail after seeing the concerned look on Rei's face. She lifted her head, looking into her classmate's eyes as he reassured her. "My Dupli-Arms can even duplicate my duplicated organs, and what was cut off was a duplicate, not the original. But, even that much was too much for Tokoyami."

Sighing in relief, Rei managed a shaky smile. "Well, at least you're okay. Small steps."

"But now Tokoyami is in the way of us getting to Bakugou. We have to figure out how to do something about this."

Just as Shoji finished his sentence, Dark Shadow let out another unearthly roar, shattering any stillness and echoing into the night. Flinching at the sudden loudness, Rei winced in agony as the shrill tones pierced her hearing. "So, any tips or ideas?"

Shoji shifted, the brush rustling around him. "It reacts to sound or movement, turning into a monster that lashes out with attacks indiscriminately."

"Shoji… Midoriya… Akatsuki…"

Peering over the bush and hazarding a glance at Dark Shadow, Rei could see Tokoyami's figure slowly being consumed by the hazy purple and static darkness, body twitching as he seized in space. "Forget… me… Find the others… Help them!"

"Tokoyami…" Rei's heart ached for him, golden eyes watching as he tried his best to contain the beast that was now unleashed and on a rampage. Ever few moments another tree would snap into pieces as Dark Shadow brushed past it, pushing it over as it meandered in the darkness with a deep resounding roar. The ground and the air shook, and Rei could only imagine how Tokoyami felt in the midst of it all.

The master had become the mastered. "Dark Shadow, calm down! Listen… to me!"

Time continued to pass. Every second they spent lying down in the suffocating darkness was another moment they lost to finding Bakugou. But could they truly move around Tokoyami and forget another classmate? Could their consciences handle trading one for another? Looking over to Midoriya, Rei could see the gears turning in his head, as well as in Shoji's own eyes as they shimmered with anger at the corner that they had been backed into. The two of them knew how much they wanted to ensure Bakugou's safety, but neither could they ignore the lurking and looming problem in front of them. Just as much as they wanted to help Bakugou, they couldn't bear to leave Tokoyami behind to shoulder this burden alone.

Shoji waited for Dark Shadow to turn away, wandering a bit further from their hiding spot before speaking again. "Dark Shadow is weak to light. Any sort of light, like a campfire or something would do."

A scowl formed on Rei's face. "During the test of courage, we weren't allowed to have any lights. Any sustainable source would have to be back in the direction of camp."

"I don't want to become a person who leaves a friend to suffer," Shoji continued, continuing to watch Dark Shadow's movements. In fact both Rei and Shoji's eyes were trained on the dark creature, only Midoriya slouched in the makeshift pouch that Shoji had made as his eyes glazed over in contemplation. Rei knew that he wasn't giving in still, the adrenaline still going. No, this was the face he made when searching desperately for an answer, for the best way out of a situation given the circumstances. So she waited as patiently as possible. "Midoriya, you forced your body to move this far because you were worried about Bakugou, right? If you think you can still move, I can distract Dark Shadow and open up a pathway for you and Rei to get through."

"No." Both boys looked to Rei, who shook her head. "I won't leave Tokoyami either, nor you. No matter how much Bakugou and…" Trailing off, Rei's eyes began to clear up then cloud over again, the ideas forming in her head.

"Tsuki-chan, do you have an idea?"

Looking back up to Midoriya, Rei nodded slowly. "It's not much of a plan, but maybe you can help. Bakugou's partner is Todoroki, right? We might not have a campfire, but with their powers and lights combined…"

Shoji's eyes lit up, looking rather impressed with the idea. "And they're closer than camp. It's a better idea that what we had, and it helps Tokoyami at the same time."

"Midoriya, how do we all get there and keep ourselves in one piece?"

It took him a minute to process things, but green eyes began to clear with determination. "I have an idea."

"Let's hear it."

* * *

As the villain draped in black and wrapped tightly in chains was lifted high into the night sky by the use of his quirk, held aloft by glittering steel beams that extended from his teeth, the echo of his cries for flesh and blood resounded through the air with an edge that could unnerve even the most wizened and practiced heroes.

Todoroki was trying not to panic, what with the villain high in the sky raining down metal blades on their position with both deadly accuracy and strength, all the while dealing with his test partner that simultaneously wanting to rain down the rest of the forest on their heads.

"Damn! I can't get near him, damn it!"

Todoroki's right side was already frosted over, and had been for a while. He had been carrying an unconscious member of Class B on his back, a burden quite literally on his shoulders while the metaphorical burden of having to both try and contain Bakugou's anger and quirk while fending off a lethal villain in the air. The problems were coming in from all angles, and he was beginning to grow irritable and desperate. He couldn't set the unconscious boy down, or else the villain would seize the moment and attack his body and turn him into a flayed corpse. But without anyone to alleviate him of his burden he was unable to use his flames in order to both restore his body temperature balance and to try and get a shot in at their target. And of course, Bakugou was no help in that sense either.

They were down to their last wits, and if Bakugou didn't blow up, then Todoroki himself was half convinced that he himself would.

"The only thing I can do is blast him with everything I've got-"

"You can't!"

"If the trees burn, then just cover them with ice right after!"

"If you do that, the blast will cover my vision as well! What'll happen if I can't stop all of it? Our opponent has the advantage in both number of moves and distance!"

Another moan sounded from the villain above, the sound mixing with a grating laughter that felt like nails being scraped across a chalkboard. The blades continued to hail down upon the ice barrier that Todoroki had created, stabbing away vicious and attempting to break through in order to slice into their flesh.

There had to be something else that they could do. But if they turned their backs, they would be blindsided and would most likely be crushed in an instant. Think! What else could they do, given their limited resources and time?

A crash resounded in the distance. Then another, and another, until the explosions began picking up in rhythm and drawing closer and closer to their position. Setting up another massive ice wall, both Todoroki and Bakugou stared in wonder as they saw trees and debris flying up and out of the way of someone's path. Someone, or something, was angry, and they were barreling toward the two at an astonishing speed.

Were they friendly, or more foes?

A voice could faintly be heard in the distance, yelling some sort of orders. Todoroki's eyes widened as he recognized the voice, watching the forest line for the inevitable emergence.

"Bakugou! Todoroki!"

It was Shoji, closely followed by Rei as the two of them sprinted recklessly at full speed, running from whatever it was that was chasing them. Shoji looked rather panicked, Todoroki never having seen the hulking boy's eyes so wide and visible even deep within the dark forest, while Rei only held a grimace on her face, eyes narrowed with her jaw clenched tight. But he could only look for so long at his classmates when his attention to the hulking purple and black mass that was chasing them down with a fury almost equal to the villain above his own head.

"One of you, please! Make some light!"

"FLESH!"

The one who reacted fast enough was Rei, who saw the glint of silver blades descending with vicious bloodthirst and had enough wits to grab Shoji's arm, yanking him in a new direction. But her concern was dismissed, as Dark Shadow finally found the opportunity to latch onto a real target. With his own talons and claws, Tokoyami's familiar pounced on the flesh-crazed villain, tackling him into the ground with a satisfying smash.

With the villain finally pulled out of the sky and sent to his feet, Todoroki set the boy on his back down, putting him a distance away. "Alright. I'll create a flame-"

"Wait, idiot!"

Bakugou put a hand in front of Todoroki, making him pause in his advance and attack. The half hot, half cold user opened his mouth to retort with something wittily, but Bakugou only gestured back to the center of the mass, pointing at something in the center. "Look there."

Rei and Shoji had continued to run around the perimeter, making their way to their other two classmates as quickly as possible. Frankly, Rei was amazed that they had actually managed to make it all the way to Bakugou and Todoroki's location with minimal injuries along the way. She and Shoji had done a decent job of distracting Dark Shadow while leading it in their direction, though there had been some close calls. But now their target was in sight, just a few hundred meter ahead. Hazarding a glance to the side, Rei's eyes widened as she glimpsed the villain rising to his feet.

No, that wasn't right. He was using his teeth blades to maneuver. The rest of his body was locked up by those bindings. A shudder of horror ran down her spine. What kind of monsters had been unleashed upon the students this night? First the muscular guy with his muscles that literally formed on top of his skin, and now someone whose teeth could extend into sharp, glittering, blades of steel?

The villain said something that Rei couldn't quite hear, but it was clear that Dark Shadow could. The beast roared as the villain's blades sliced through its head, though Dark Shadow didn't seem to feel it in the slightest. Instead he thundered back at the villain, voice deep and sonorous as it boomed through the night air and his body surrounded the man from all sides. "Don't beg, small fry!"

Scooping up the target in one fist he began smashing and dashing his body across the terrain, knocking his head and body into trees, rocks, and the ground as Dark Shadow violently raged. With a war cry he continually drove the villain's body into the ground, the man eventually going limp in its grasp from all the damage. Seeing as his target was finally out for the count, he chucked the limp corpse into the forest, the body ragdolling and hurtling through the air before colliding with a tree and sagging to the ground unceremoniously.

With another guttural shout Dark Shadow lifted his head to the sky, red eyes glittering in the black night. "I haven't had enough fun yet!

But the scene had ended, and it was clear that it was time to wrap things up. With the villain taken care of, Bakugou and Todoroki rushed forward, flames and explosions brilliantly flashing and getting searingly close to the dark apparition. Dark Shadow shrieked rather pathetically compared to how it had been booming and menacingly taunting others just moments before, but it finally cowered and shrank down to its host's body. With a swirl and a flourish the beast was tamed, and Tokoyami was revealed to be crouching in the middle of the clearing, desperately catching his breath.

Both Todoroki and Bakugou continued to wield their quirks until Dark Shadow vanished all the way inside Tokoyami's chest, Bakugou in particular looking back at their classmate with a dry but tense look on his face. "I'm really a bad match-up for you."

"Sorry… Thanks for saving me."

A figure crouched before Tokoyami, making him look up slightly at the newcomer's approach. It was Rei, who was looking over him with a scrutinous gaze, brow furrowed in concentration as she looked him over. Even though he looked clearly exhausted from the entire episode, there weren't any other visible injuries on him. With a sigh of relief her gaze softened. "Are you alright now?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Thank you for trusting in us. It must have been hard."

Even with Rei's soft words of thanks, Tokoyami still looked clearly shaken. Looking at his hands, he trembled in fear, even with the villain now taken out and being back to his normal self. "I'm sorry, everyone. I was immature, and I let my anger take control of me and surrendered to Dark Shadow. The influence of the darkness and my anger spurred him on, and in the end I couldn't hold back and I hurt you, Shoji."

"'We can leave that for later.'" The entire group looked over to Shoji, who was both sympathetic yet tense. It was clear that this entire encounter had shaken everyone, and they had to remind themselves that they were still in the thick of things. But he and Tokoyami looked at one another, two close friends that momentarily ignored everyone and everything around them. "That's what you would say, right?"

Tokoyami acquiesced, and Rei offered her hands to him to help him stand up. All was well enough that ended well. But it was time to get back to business.

"Oh, right!" Midoriya peered over Shoji's shoulder, green eyes roving over everyone as he took the group in. "We've confirmed that one of the villain's targets is Kacchan."

"Bakugou? Are they trying to kill him? Why?"

It was a rather good question, and Rei looked back to Midoriya for an explanation. Even she didn't have all the answers, and neither had Midoriya spilled everything, from what she could tell. With all attention back on Midoriya, the boy on Shoji's back began to speak as quickly and as articulately as possible, but even he wasn't aware of how much his speech was beginning to slow and slur. The evening's events were beginning to wear on him. "I don't know. But I think the safest place is the camp where Aizawa-sensei and Vlad King are. The problem is the route…"

"Midoriya."

All eyes turned to Rei, who stood at the center of the group. Leveling her classmate with one sturdy look, it was enough to silence Midoriya as his face dropped for a moment before returning to watch her carefully. Golden eyes watched her classmate carefully as she continued to speak to him as well as everyone else that could hear her. "We need to return to camp. We'll have to take a direct path as best as possible."

Tokoyami nodded his head, though his eyes were concerned. "It might put us in contact with other villains, since we don't know how many there are."

"The other option is to follow the path, but that would lead us back to where Mandalay and Tiger are fighting two villains. It's a risk, but if we're careful we should be able to make it safely." Turning her gaze to look at everyone, she began taking inventory of what they had. Shoji and her were more than capable of being lookouts, what with their senses being the most alert and adept at identifying enemies from afar. Midoriya was down and out for the count, but they at least had Todoroki with his ice powers. "Tokoyami, if it came down to it, would you trust us to guide Dark Shadow?"

It was a terrifying prospect, and Rei could see the fear in his eyes that he desperately tried to hide as he plastered a brave face on as best as he could. Nodding once, he closed his eyes for a moment. "If it comes down to it, then I'll leave it to you."

"Then it's settled. Shoji and Midoriya will take point, along with Todoroki. Bakugou will walk in the middle, followed by Tokoyami and I. Shoji and I will keep eyes out on the forest and watch for enemies, but our goal is to avoid combat as much as possible while escorting Bakugou back." Turning back to Midoriya, she met his eyes, searching for his reaction. "Midoriya?"

At least he was still coherent and awake enough to comprehend their plan. Green eyes had hardened in determination, even if he wasn't physically much help. "To be honest, this is a strong group. We could probably take on All Might if we wanted to."

"Oi!" It was only time before Bakugou finally exploded after being left to the side of things, and his temper had finally flared. He moved toward Rei, who shifted her body to face him and meet him halfway. "What's wrong with you guys?!"

But the group seemed content to ignore him, Todoroki picking up the still unconscious Class B boy and falling in line behind Shoji, tossing a small look to Bakugou. "Listen to Akatsuki and get in the middle of the group."

"Don't protect me, you scum! I can-"

A slap resounded in the air, silencing Bakugou immediately. All heads turned in surprise to the duo who stood in the center of it all, slightly horrified that of all the times to pick, Rei had chosen now to slap Bakugou across his cheek. But Rei held her ground, leveling the boy with one of her infamous gazes, holding him under her watch and forcing him to fall silent as he gaped at the smaller girl that dared to challenge him.

Her voice was calm and steady, but held an edge of deadliness that laced her words. "I'm calling the shots now. Follow the group and try not to do anything stupid."

He at least had enough sense to not explode, but like his normal personality, he couldn't let anyone get away with giving the last word. With a scoff and shoulders squared in pride, he began stalking off behind Todoroki. "Pah! Don't tell me what to do." But contrary to his words he listened, bristling as he was from the entire situation and being pushed along by someone else. They were all tense, and they all knew it, deep down. Still, even in such a critical moment of stress, Rei's eyes softened as she watched him walk off, shoulders relaxing a bit.

They had found them, and just in time too. It had been a miraculous turn of events; if they had taken Tokoyami back to the campsite like they had initially thought, then there was almost no possible outcome where they defeated that sword toothed villain. Without Dark Shadow they would have been desperate, and potentially doomed. As Tokoyami walked past her, giving her a curious glance, she merely met his gaze and nodded. "Let's go."

"Akatsuki-san, are you sure you're alright?"

"Sorry?"

It was the first time that night that someone had asked if she was alright. Tokoyami's eyes looked up and down her body as they fell into step behind the group, trailing closely behind Bakugou. "Your leg was injured earlier this afternoon, wasn't it? To come all this way with Midoriya…"

"Midoriya is a threat unto himself." Rei scoffed, glaring daggers at the boy near the front that was riding on Shoji's back, Midoriya oblivious to her scowl and irritation. "I came because he apparently doesn't realize how severely he's injured."

"Neither do you, apparently. Are you well enough to make it back?"

Rei knew she was shaking from head to toe at this point, body ready to give in at any point now as a particularly strong convulsion wracked her body. She was doing little better than Midoriya at this point, as he had been back when they were fighting the muscular she had finally relieved herself of the weighted bangles that Pixie Bob had given her, using them to chuck into the forest in order to divert Dark Shadow's attention when things got tight with Shoji's limited abilities. In the rush of everything she had almost forgotten about them, and had kept them on since she hadn't really had a good time to take them off. With at least a few pounds off of her body she was feeling light enough to be able to endure the trek back to the main camp.

If she hadn't have taken the bangles off, she was certain that things would be a different story. She would be face down in the forest somewhere, at the mercy of the villains.

There was still work to be done. It was the adrenaline that kept her moving at this point, keeping her from admitting her weakness from the rest of the group and making her shake her head. "I'm fine. The sooner we get back, the safer we'll be."

The look Tokoyami shot back at her spoke louder than any words could. He clearly didn't believe her, but they were limited on options. Turning away from their strategist he continued on after Bakugou, Rei taking up the rear and scanning the forest line as best as she could. The group had begun to run, and as Rei kept her eyes peeled she noticed the look that Bakugou had sent backwards over his shoulder.

Nerves. For the first time that she could remember, he looked unnerved. No one else appeared to notice, set on ignoring the irritable boy as they concentrated on keeping their senses aware and open to everything. But just for the smallest of moments, for a fraction of a second, Rei could see the panic that had set into his core that he was desperately trying to keep hidden.

Rei couldn't bring herself to smile. She was exhausted beyond measure. But in lieu of what she couldn't do, she instead gave him a solid look of determination, nodding her head ever so slightly in acknowledgement and solidarity. She had to keep herself together; Midoriya was already falling apart at the seams, and the group was now relying on Rei to keep them organized and in line. They could fall apart after they crossed the finish line, when the night was over. But until then, Rei had to keep it together.

For herself. For the group. For Bakugou.

Seeing her confidence seemed to boost his attitude a bit, turning forward as his shoulders were set solidly onto his back. He had no idea how much it had helped her in return, a bit of strength restored inside of her. Yes, they would make it back. They could do this. They hadn't come this far simply to come this far.

The trees rustled in the wind, Rei's ears picking something that moved unnaturally. It was easy enough for any other person to dismiss the sound as a part of the wind jostling the branches around, but she was no normal person with average hearing. Lifting her head, she saw a flash of color.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

She was taken before she could set off the alarm.

* * *

"The boy that you're talking about…"

The reunited students of 1-A turned slowly as a new voice rang out. Uraraka supported by Tsuyu, they watched as the remaining three boys stood in front of them, in between them and the new villain that had appeared. Bakugou had vanished. And now, in his place…

They should have known that their luck would have run out at some point. It was sheer luck that Midoriya, Shoji, and Rei had decided to bring Tokoyami and a raging Dark Shadow along with them in Bakugou and Todoroki's direction, a risk of hurting their classmates counterbalanced by the fact that Dark Shadow had managed to easily take down the bladed toothed villain. It was a bit of navigational luck and overall good timing that their group had appeared in time to save Uraraka and Tsuyu, the villain that they had been fighting wisely disappearing back into the forest and retreating from the overwhelming numbers. It was luck that they were still standing, that Midoriya was still conscious.

Five sets of eyes turned upward, a new figure looming high above their heads in a particularly tall tree, dressed in brightly colored clothes and a trenchcoat, a mask hiding their identity. Surely underneath the mask he was smiling, pleased at the turn of events. "I took him with my magic." In his red gloved hand he tossed a cerulean marble that sparkled strangely even in the darkness, pulling everyone's attention to the gem. "This talent isn't someone who should be on the hero side. We'll take him to a stage where he can shine more."

No one had let down their guard. They had worked hard to ensure that no one could slip through their defenses. Midoriya's anger began to boil over, body shifting even underneath Shoji's protective cocoon. "Give him back!"

"'Give him back?' What a strange thing to say. Bakugou doesn't belong to anyone. He's his own person, you egoist."

"Give him back!"

Even if Midoriya couldn't move, it didn't mean that others couldn't. A massive dagger of ice erupted from the ground, stemming from Todoroki as he aimed to knock the villain out of the tree and spear him through. The man only leapt out of the way in time, sailing through the air with one hand on his hat and another secured around his cane. "We only want to show him that the path he's on now with its fanatical values is not the only one he can take." Landing on the top of a clump of tree boughs, he bowed his head. "Kids these days are made to choose their paths based on their values."

Compared to the other villains who had all shown some signs of being less than mentally stable, this man was rather the opposite. His logic was sound enough, though rather twisted in its own way to embellish and embrace the way of the villains versus the glorified path of heroes. But it was wrong, all of it wrong.

Shoji turned his head, looking around and suddenly gasping at his realization. "It's not just Bakugou! Tokoyami and Akatsuki are gone too!"

The group startled, even more disconcerted and horrified that three of their numbers had been snatched so easily. The most strange had been Rei. How had this villain slipped past her guard?

Todoroki's eyes narrowed dangerously, glaring daggers at the magician. "To go out of your way to talk to us, you're underestimating us."

"I was originally an entertainer, did you know?" The villain seemed to ignore Todoroki, tossing and balancing the marble in his hand that help a captured Bakugou within, the gem flashing and drawing everyone's attention while reminding them of their failure. "Unfortunately, it's a bad habit of mine. Taking Tokoyami was an improvisation on my part. But as for Akatsuki-san, well…"

In his hand, there suddenly appeared two additional marbles almost identical in color. One for Tokoyami, and another for Akatsuki.

With a single blow he had managed to steal away half their numbers and capture the king.

Everyone bristled at the way that he so casually rubbed his victory in their faces, dancing just barely out of their grasp. But in his smooth talking manner, he continued to verbally parry with the students. "Moonfish, the man with Blade Tooth was a criminal on death row who had his appeal dismissed. This Tokoyami was so easily able to crush that cutthroat with a violence of his own, so I decided that he was good too."

"And Akatsuki? What has she done? She would never!" It was a question that no one wanted to ask, but it burned in everyone's chest as Todoroki thundered on anyway. Akatsuki was undoubtedly dark at times, but she was good. Cutthroat, but gentle. Did they see her as useful as well?

She wouldn't go with them, would she?

But to their surprise, the villain only shrugged his shoulders. "Unfortunately, I only take the orders as they come. Someone higher up than me has been looking for her for a while now. I was barely able to snag her before she alerted the rest of you, you know?"

"You bastard! Don't take them!"

"Midoriya, calm down!"

Todoroki was the first to move, quickly handing over the other student he had been carrying to Uraraka and separating from the group as he ran forward quickly. In the flash of an eye an ice wall tore the forest open, surging even higher and wider than the one that had been summoned at the sports festival. Frost covered his skin as he exhaled, breath icy and fogging up even in the warm night.

"Sorry, tricks and running away are my only redeeming features!"

Five sets of heads shot up to look high above the ice, watching as the villain fluttered through the air and began to run away over the tops of the trees. Sliding his hand into his pocket he tucked the gems away, muttering something else to himself that was distorted from the distance before lifting a hand to a headset and shouting directions. "Vanguard Action Squad! Targets successfully collected! It was just a short while, but with this our mission has come to a close. As arranged, head to the retrieval point in the next five minutes!"

Sailing away through the night sky, Midoriya and Todoroki protested in vain, Shoji and the latter taking off down a new path as the girls followed behind. But the villain above had a much clearer path than the stragglers that pursued him from below, the forest much more dense with bushes and other obstacles to clear. Slowly as the seconds passed they began to lag behind, the distance growing greater and greater.

"Damn it, that masked guy's fast!"

"If only Iida-kun were here…"

"Damn it!" First Bakugou, then Akatsuki. Midoriya knew he should have trusted his gut instinct. The entire time he had been uncertain, lacking the additional facts to give him a clear picture, but now that they were chasing down their three classmates held hostage he wished that he had been honest with Akatsuki. He hadn't wanted to scare her, just in case he had been overthinking as he sometimes tended to do, but it had been foolish.

He should have trusted her more, just as she had probably been trusting him to be honest.

"_Say, kid, answer me this. Do you know where a Bakugou is in this place?" _

_Muscular was standing before him menacingly, a grin on his face. It was in that moment that Midoriya realized that the villains weren't just here to create chaos and to kill; they had a mission, and that involved Bakugou somehow. He was a target, and Midoriya had to relay that information as soon as possible and get to him to ensure his safety._

_But the villain took Midoriya's silence as uncertainty. "Oi, do you not know? I'll take your silence as you don't know. Then, how about that cat girl? Or multiple cats? You know them too?" _

Midoriya's thought had been that they were looking for the Pussycats, or at least one of them in particular. But his faith had wavered as soon as the villain recognized Rei as soon as she had entered the scene. That villain had recognized her face, though he was too much of a solo player and too vested in his own self interests to carry on with his mission. He had stated that he had come to play and stretch his wings, and in those following moments Midoriya had pushed all thoughts of Rei to the side. There were too many compounding factors and veiled truths to be able to tell if the villain was actually looking for Rei or had mistaken her for someone else.

But now the truth was out in the open. Rei had been another intended target. Gritting his teeth, he couldn't believe that they had just let this villain take both Bakugou and Akatsuki as well as steal Tokoyami on a whim. And now they were paying for Midoriya's momentary insolence.

The villain was getting further and further away.

What would Rei do?"

"We can't… give up… We have to catch up… and get them back!"

Shoji's eyes were trained upward, catching glimpses of the villain high above. It wasn't a terribly difficult task, even as the branches obscured his vision in some areas, given the fact that the villain was gaudily dressed in bright and ostentatious clothing. "But at this rate, he's just getting farther away!"

A plan, he needed a plan.

Think! What would Rei do if it was him up there and her down here?

"Uraraka-san, make us float! And then Asui-san, throw us as far as you can with your tongue. Shoji-kun can use his arms to adjust our trajectory as needed. And Uraraka, measure the distance with your eyes, and when the timing looks right release us!"

It was a bold plan, and rather dangerous among other things. But there was merit to it, and it was the only way to catch up quickly to the escaping villain. "I see," Shoji mused, head turning to Todoroki as the two of them contemplated the plan. "Like a human bullet, huh?"

"Wait, Deku-kun! Are you seriously going to keep moving like that?" Uraraka's concern was felt by everyone, and Todoroki narrowed his eyes as he took charge.

"Midoriya, you stay behind. With that pain, you're in no state-"

"I don't feel any pain right now!"

Todoroki's eyes widened, a bolt of fear running through his body in concern for his friend. But Midoriya didn't seem to realize it, so consumed in catching up to the villain that he muttered half to himself as he tried to motivate himself. "I can still move… Let me move!"

The team collectively stopped to prepare themselves, Uraraka tearing off her shirt and quickly gathering materials to create temporary splints for Midoriya's broken arms. As soon as the trio of boys had figured out the logistics of how to hold on to one another in the air, Tsuyu bundled them up and Uraraka activated her quirk, none of them willing to waste any more time.

Silence, as everyone looked to one another, finding the strength to continue moving, just as Midoriya said.

As long as they could move, they couldn't afford to not move forward.

Steeling herself, Tsuyu gave one last word of encouragement. "Make sure you save those three." She gave no time for them to respond, yanking with all of her might as she launched the small group into the air, sending them hurtling through the cold night air with a shout of startlement. Through strained eyes that tried to fight the wind and blink quickly to keep their eyes from drying out, they could barely watch as they closed down on the villain's figure, colliding with full force just as Uraraka released her quirk and the now group of four was sent hurtling back into the earth.

They fell from the sky like comets hurtling to meet the hard ground below. Now in contact, the boys each grabbed a piece of the magician as they forced him into the ground. They collided back into the earth with resounding force, Shoji and Todoroki slamming his shoulders down while Midoriya used his feet to drive himself into the back. Dust and rocks flew upward, no longer bound to the earth.

But as the dust began to dissipate and settle back down, they found themselves in an entirely new situation.

"Hey, hey, hey! I know these kids!

"Mister, get out of the way."

The magician vanished from their grasp, leaving the three of their grasping at thin air. There was barely any time to react to the blue flames that hurtled in their direction, a concentrated stream that split the three apart as they leapt to the side. Midoriya screamed mostly in shock at the sudden closeness and the searing heat of the flames as he bent over backwards, trying to escape with only a moment to spare.

They were on their own, and quickly found themselves being attacked and in the one-on-one battles of their lives.

The final battle had begun.

Chaos. The scene was complete and utter chaos. Todoroki was hard pressed to fight against another flame user, while Shoji did his best to return to Midoriya's side and help him defend against the blonde girl that had attacked Uraraka. Madness had descended as wits and improvisions were made, blood and sweat mingling together as time passed and various injuries began taking their toll.

With the students engaged, the magician pulled himself out from the divot that had been created from his landing, dusting himself off and making his way toward the only other remaining villain. Reaching into his right pocket, he dug around for a little while, fingers delving into the corners and creases in search of the familiar marbles that he had won, but unsuccessful. "Huh?"

"Midoriya! Todoroki! We're retreating now!" Shoji looked at the villains carefully. "I don't know what your quirk is, but inside that right pocket of yours which you kept flaunting were these-right, entertainer?"

Three bright marbles twinkled in Shoji's hands, Todoroki and Midoriya lighting up at his fast play and cleverness with cries of their own in thankfulness. Securing their targets they turned sharp on their heels and began running back into the forest, Todoroki hastily putting up a wall of ice as large as he could make it in such a short amount of time between them and the villains, making it difficult to see their escape and pursue them.

They had barely made it a few paces away when a hulking creature emerged from the shadows, all too silent and all too familiar. Hearts jolting, the group immediately made a harsh turn away from the Nomu, now trying to put distance between all the villains that were before them.

But all too soon, they found themselves caught.

A flash of purple and black haze manifested before their eyes, extending high above their heads and bringing their escape to a halt as they stared up into yellow eyes that were flattened into unamused slats.

It was like reliving the USJ incident all over again.

With the students frozen like deer in the headlights, Kurogiri turned his attention to the rest of the Vanguard Action Squad. "It has been five minutes since the signal. Let us go, Dabi."

"Wait. Our goal is not yet-"

"Oh, that? Those three seemed so happy, that they rushed out of here, so I thought I'd give them a present."

All eyes turned back toward the magician as he turned back to face the trio. The prestige was upon them as a haughty air came back to the man. "An old habit. One of the basics of magic. When I flaunt something, it's because there's something that I don't want you to see." The mask was pulled away, and as the villain opened his mouth on display the realization struck Midoriya in particular.

There, in his mouth, sat two small gems.

With a snap of his fingers the balls in Shoji's hands dissipated to reveal three chunks of ice, the items suspended in air for a moment before dropping to the ground with a thud. Todoroki in particular looked enraged, recognizing the fragments. "It was my ice?!"

"That's right. During your freezing attack, I took three dummies and place them in my right pocket." He watched in amusement as the trio high tailed it back across the clearing in a last ditch effort to catch the villains before they vanished into the warp gate portal, still much too far away to do anything. "If you discover that what was in my right hand was in my pocket, then of course you'd rush happily over."

"Give them back!"

"And now, my role is over-"

A beam of light flashed across the clearing, smacking the villain in the face just as he folded over slightly in an exaggerated bow, taking advantage of the clear sightline from whoever was hidden in the bushes. But for anyone in Class 1-A, they immediately knew who it was, no matter if they remained hidden or not.

Aoyama couldn't have picked a better time.

The marbles fell out of his mouth, and Shoji and Todoroki leapt forward to grab them out of the air.

Shoji's hand firmly grasped one, pulling it close to his chest as he changed his direction last second to loop back away from the warp gate.

Todoroki's hand reached forward as he took one final bounding leap into the air. But his catch was deflected, another hand and a burned arm flicking out and taking hold of the prize.

Blue eyes flickered in veiled amusement at his victory. "How sad… Todoroki Shoto." Turning to his partner, Dabi looked on in boredom. "And the third?"

With a bowed head, the entertainer began to take his exit, a grimace on his face at the outcome of events. Complete victory had been within his grasp. "The girl is my glove. My show's been ruined!"

"Confirm both of them now."

Wiggling the wrist of his glove, the entertainer flashed the third and final marble before snapping his fingers to release the other two, retreating back into the portal. Sure enough, Tokoyami appeared in front of Shoji, while Bakugou's confused face made an appearance as Dabi's hand clenched around the back of his neck.

Dabi smiled. "No problem. Confirmed."

Pulling against Bakugou's throat, the boy was dragged back into the portal against his will. Red eyes locked onto the figure of a green haired boy who desperately dashed towards him, shouting his name, nearly in tears.

"Don't come, Deku!"

The world went fuzzy and dark.

They had lost.

* * *

_Apparently, Vlad King called emergency services, and within fifteen minutes after the villains had left, fire trucks and ambulances arrived. _

_Of the six pro heroes, one was in serious condition after receiving a hard blow to the head, and one lost a lot of blood and went missing. _

_Of the forty-one students, fifteen were unconscious and in serious condition from the villain's gas, and eleven others had minor or major injuries. Thirteen were uninjured. _

_And two were missing. _

* * *

Discombobulated was the only word Rei could use to describe how she felt.

In one moment she had been running through the forest behind Tokoyami and the rest of their party. The next felt like someone had suddenly plunged her into a sensory deprivation tank; she hadn't ever been in one, but she could only imagine what it felt like to feel like one was floating among the cosmos in a dark and unfeeling world, where no one was able to hear you and neither was one able to comprehend or make sense of anything. Not a sound, not a scent, not a sight within any distance.

It was different from when her mind had been possessed by Shinso. At least in that moment she had felt as though she was floating through a blurry world, where everything was hazy and filled with a swirl of colors that felt like someone had dirtied a glass window and smudged her vision. And this was also different from the time at USJ where that warp gate had teleported her into a different section of the training ground. That time, she had felt like she had been suffocating for a moment as she was squeezed through a tiny tube, getting sucked through a straw and spat out into a new location. It was only for a moment, but in that place Rei was convinced that she had died.

Then in the next moment, she found herself somewhere new.

She was suddenly standing in front of a bar, wooden floors and walls well shined and polished beneath her feet and so different from the forest floor that had just been beneath her moments ago. Strangely enough there was a strong scent of astringents and cleaners, making her recoil from the harsh toners on her nose and stagger from the sudden change. The lights were few, but bright enough to make a difference from where she had just been inside a dark forest with no light at all, eyes wincing and making her squint in an effort to get a clear read on her surroundings.

Something was wrong. Immediately going on high alert, she dodged out of the way and leaned to her left, turning around and facing the person behind her. Grabbing the hand that had extended out to grab her own, she snatched the wrist and pulled hard, catching the person off guard and sending them flying into the bar with a cry of surprise. He was strangely covered in a tight black and gray suit, comically stuttering forward unexpectedly, but Rei was in no laughing mood. Behind him stood a stoic black haired man with glittering blue eyes, their gazes locking in a heartbeat.

In the instant that his hands lit up with flames Rei activated her own claws, sliding into a defensive stance for a moment. It was close quarters fight. She had just a moment to get within range before-

"Stand down, unless you want to die."

She bared her teeth in a feral manner, swiveling around to turn back to the bar and whoever had addressed her. Freezing, she let her expression drop as soon as she met the stranger's gaze, realizing that he wasn't so much of a stranger as she had thought him to be.

Slouching at the bar, with fingers drumming on the counter impatiently, was Shigaraki Tomura, the primary perpetrator of the USJ incident.

And behind him at the bar was a glowering, towering warp gate, yellow eyes flashing and daring Rei to disobey.

Four enemies was way too many to take on. Turning her gaze to the side, she realized that it wasn't the end either. A small blonde girl that looked to be around Rei's age stood near the door, rather exuberant and sporting a maniacal grin on her face as she watched Rei turning in apprehension. Next to her stood a man dressed to the nines in formal attire, brown eyes boring into Rei's own gold carefully, though he wasn't able to contain all the irritation in his own expression from leaking out for some reason.

She had been caught.

Her gut dropped. She was alone, in a room packed to the gills with villains who were more or less sane. Fighting was only an option if she had a death wish, so her shoulders slouched as she lowered her fists and retracted her claws. She remained tense, ready to defend herself, but did her best to show that she understood her position.

Shigaraki's face was obscured by a gloved hand, but the scoff he released wasn't. "Maybe you're not as dumb as I thought you were."

"Shigaraki."

The warp gate admonished him, or at least attempted to. It didn't seem to have any effect on the blue haired boy, who Rei was certain would be rolling his eyes as his subordinate's tone. Instead he drummed his fingers on the surface of the bar, looking in Rei's direction. Well, she was almost a hundred percent certain he was looking at her. Even if she couldn't see his eyes, she could feel his gaze, making her want to shudder.

The room was tense, the air thick. The silence stretched on, save for the drumming of his fingers. All too suddenly the motion then stopped, Shigaraki sitting up in his chair.

"Sensei, is this really the person you wanted?"

Sensei?

So Shigaraki wasn't the mastermind behind everything? It was both an odd notion and yet entirely believable. Evil tended to be obscured by the shadows, and a masterful puppeteer would surely be able to disguise himself in the darkness.

When the voice crackled through the television screen, Rei couldn't hide the shudder than ran down her spine.

"Well done, Shigaraki."

Stiffly Rei turned toward the television, eyes wide with fear. There was no visual input, instead a static screen on display even as the voice came out clearly. A camera sat perched atop the screen, surely capturing the image of the room so that the person on the other end could see in. It was like a one way mirror, and although Rei knew that someone was on the other end, it wasn't enough to assuage her fear of exactly who was sitting on the other side.

All she knew, from her gut reaction, was that this person was even more dangerous than Shigaraki himself.

"Akatsuki Rei, isn't it?"

Standing up straight, Rei swallowed hard, her mouth all of a sudden painfully dry. "That's me." Her voice cracked as she licked her lips, though her tongue felt like a cotton swab and only made the motion worse.

"Why don't we have a chat?"

In one moment her mouth and throat was dry. In the next it felt like she was drowning. Suddenly she coughed, eyes widening when a gray ooze suddenly flew out of her mouth and began to envelop her. She could faintly hear one of the villains complaining, distantly saying something along the lines of, "after all that trouble?" but soon even her hearing failed her as she disappeared into the muck. Within moments it felt like she had suddenly been submerged in a vat of mud, the substance covering every inch of her body and suffocating her from the outside in.

Then it was over. Hacking and blinking the bizarre sensation away, Rei staggered as she tried to keep herself from falling over. Her hands flew to her mouth, certain that she was one step away from vomiting after going through that experience. What was that?

"I apologize. The sensation of being transported is, admittedly, less than pleasant."

That voice. It was the same as the one she had heard in the other room, although now it was one hundred percent less static-y and uncomfortably close to her. Freezing for a moment, she slowly looked up in front of her.

Horror flooded her system.

This was not a man.

This was a monster.

The suit and the hands were the only indication that the person in front of her was human. But Rei's eyes were drawn upward to his face, or rather, where the man's face was supposed to be. Instead there was a navy mask, supported by thick black and silver wiring, like a cage placed over an animal.

An animal. It seemed fitting.

Seeing as how Rei was too stunned to respond, the man continued, clasping his hands behind his back. "But you, you're a fighter, aren't you? In spite of the odds, you've never crumbled, never swayed. You haven't changed, even after all these years."

A cold sweat began to form on Rei's back at his words. After all these years? "You've been watching me?"

"Nerves of steel, too." He continued, as though she hadn't spoken, but something about his demeanor told Rei that he was listening carefully. "A perfect fit for the job I have for you."

She should have fought. She should have rejected his offer. She should have acted as any good hero would have done, should have spat in his face and turned on her heel and run. But instead she simply stood there, paralyzed in fear. Later, she would try and convince herself that she had realized it was futile. But the truth was there.

The man extended a hand down toward Rei, as though in good will. "Won't you join me, dear Akatsuki?"

"Who are you?"

Even though his face was obscured, Rei could practically feel the smile radiating from behind the mask.

"I am called All For One."

* * *

AN: You know, I was feeling bad because a lot of my future chapters are really short in my opinion. Then I read that Jolkien Rolkien Rolkien Tolkien's _The Fellowship of the Ring _is only 187,790 words, and we've LONG PASSED THAT PHASE BUDDY.

So in a nutshell, **some future chapters will be a little shorter than normal. **Am I apologetic about it? I used to be. But then realize that I've written a shit ton in the past six months, so no, I'm not apologetic anymore. I've done my best with them, and they're decent chapters. It's not like I'm half assing them. I did consider condensing chapters to make them longer, but it didn't make a lot of sense to have one chapter be 15k+ just because I was worried about aesthetics.

**Also, I saved some of my bloopers from when I was writing this chapter. **Yeah, I was not having it when I wrote this first draft. These are some of the best things that I wrote, mostly because I couldn't find the right words, so I just put whatever was in my head into brackets to be revisited later. **This is actually a really good writing tip:** if you ever get stuck, put whatever crap you have into your head into brackets in order to keep writing, so that you don't get stuck running in circles. This trick always works for me, since I sometimes struggle finding the perfect word, so I put a synonym inside the brackets to revisit later. This makes things really easy to spot when editing, as you can probably tell. Also, it ensures that you can keep writing and move on! Flow is very important, since I want to spit everything out as soon as possible. You can't edit if you don't have anything on the page, so it's better to have tons of crap instead of a few, very specific lines that you'll later decide are crap.

**But first, thank you for the reviews...**

**Anseo**: Oh, yes. (evil laughter) Hopefully this chapter also explains the weights. They probably could have come off earlier, but I think that Rei would probably have been so consumed in trying to get places that she essentially forgot about the weights temporarily since they became a part of her. Chucking them into the forest to distract Dark Shadow also seems very satisfying lol. Thanks for the review!

**ShardAura**: Yay, I'm so happy that I can provide something so binge worthy! I know that feeling really well :D I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

**Please enjoy some of the "wrong" writing that I did when I wrote this (bloopers):**

1) "She gave no time for them to respond, yanking with all of her might as she [YEETED] the small group into the air"

2) "Chaos. The scene was complete and utter chaos. Todoroki was [in a build battle JUST BUILD YOU BOTS], while Shoji did his best to return to Midoriya's side and help him defend against the blonde girl that had attacked Uraraka. [fight description blah blah blah]"

3) "Securing their [payload] they turned sharp on their heels and began running back into the forest"

* * *

Edit (7/27/19): Significant changes to ending to reflect later changes (for post hiatus)


	28. Bonus Chapter: Bloom

**AN: Surprise!**

**This is a bonus chapter (more info at the bottom)**

**This is my gift specifically to everyone who has reviewed at some point during this story**

* * *

_Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch,_

_But whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same_

_Hellen Keller_

* * *

When she left her hometown, she hadn't looked back.

Akatsuki Rei had been sick of it all. The same people, the same classmates, the same routine for eighteen years. She hadn't come from the most rural town, but neither was a graduating high school class of two hundred students something to brag about either. The end of high school couldn't come fast enough; she was ready to stretch her wings and get out of that town.

There was nothing left for her anyway. Rei had learned from an early age that if she wanted to get somewhere, she had to look forward.

Her parents were no help. Both of them worked in the next town over, and the only time Rei ever saw them get along was when they were drinking in separate rooms. There had been a lot of screaming, a handful of fights, and all too many shattered beer bottles on the linoleum kitchen tiles that abruptly woke Rei out of her slumber every few nights. It was safe to say that neither had ever modeled a healthy relationship for their daughter, leaving Rei lacking in the social skills department and thus without many people to call her friends. By the time she reached high school she had become self aware, but it was too late to rectify her mistakes. No one wanted to be the friend of the loner, not when social lines had already been drawn and those who crossed them walked on thin ice or would be thrown away.

So Rei looked ahead to the future. The ticket to getting out of that town was going to college. Tucking her head down Rei dove into her studies, impressing her teachers and earning accolades and impressive letters of recommendation once the time came to apply. When her admission letters came she immediately chose the one furthest away, given the fact that the scholarships she had won would cover the tuition and give her a decent cushion.

Neither of her parents cared, or at least their reaction on the day that their daughter moved out proved that they hadn't listened to her at all. Perhaps a part of it was on her shoulders, since she hadn't ever really bothered to tell them anything, so convinced that they were all too drunk out of their minds to even hear her or pay attention to her, but her assumptions had been rooted in some small truth. Neither ever seemed to listen. What was the point in speaking when no one cared? So she had brushed past them as they sat on the couch, slack jawed at her sudden boldness and confidence. It was the most brave she had ever felt in her life, the most powerful.

It was the last time for a while that she felt like that.

Arriving at the university in Tokyo, Rei had felt small. She wasn't terribly tall in the first place, but standing under those archways had made her feel even more insignificant than she had even felt back at home. It didn't help that her lectures were massive, making her feel dwarfed by the hugeness of everything. After a month she was ready to drop out, ready to give in and admit that she hadn't been ready for this new experience. Perhaps she was fated to remain in that backwater town for the rest of her life, like everyone else in her graduating class.

But fate had other plans.

Large classes led to discussion groups. Rei's leader was a graduate student with a brilliant personality who showed genuine interest in her students and their lives. After a few weeks Rei finally began opening up, much to her leader's surprise and pleasure. Fujioka Reina was as smart as her smile was wide, and the two of them formed a friendship.

When Rei felt ready to give in, it was Reina who encouraged her to stay in school. After the first semester finished, it was Reina who gave Rei her personal contact information, telling her to stay in touch. By the time the end of the first year was rolling around, the two of them were constantly meeting up for coffee at a local shop just outside campus, sometimes with work to do, but more often than not simply meeting up for friendship and solidarity.

It was through Reina that Rei eventually found her first apartment and her first job.

After two years Rei was itching to find a job. Scholarship money was decent, but it was nice to have a little extra money to cushion her savings. Aside from that, her grades were stellar, and while she had held a job on campus working as an aide to a secretary it wasn't what she wanted to do. She was a business major, and she wanted something else. Something useful.

The topic came up in conversation, and a few weeks later it led to Reina introducing Rei to her girlfriend. Hotaru was a sweet, quiet, yet resolute woman who had taken over her family's florist shop not a block from the school and on the border of the "college town alleyway" of shops as many people like to call it. Across from the university was a street filled with a variety of shops aimed at the college students, from restaurants and bars to convenience stores and a host of other random places, like a piercing shop and tattoo parlor. The flower shop was located on the corner closest to the school and attracted quite a bit of attention, especially when holidays came around or when graduation happened. Rei had actually passed by multiple times, always surprised to see how brilliant and fresh the flowers were for such an urban environment. Even back at home, the flowers never seemed to be as bright as they were here. So it hadn't been an entirely dreadful experience to be introduced to the young shop owner, who was more than happy to hire a helpful hand who was interested in the business.

Even more than that, but there were two apartments above the flower shop. One of them belonged to Hotaru and thus Reina, but the other had been empty. Hotaru had been more than happy to rent it out to Rei, who had thanked the duo profusely for the next week for all their, much to their amusement. They had no idea how much everything meant Rei.

Now, she had a place to belong. She wouldn't have to return home any time soon.

The years passed. Rei graduated. She worked side by side with Hotaru as she began to help out and organize the business side of things, working to increase their profits and appeal to the college students even more by practicing the things she had learned in school. In return, Hotaru also taught her the core components of floral arranging and other more aesthetic components. By the time Rei was a year out of school they had increased their profits by nearly twenty-percent, something neither of them had believed to be achievable until they began calculating everything at the end of the year.

It was a beautiful partnership. And somewhere along the way, Rei found herself growing content. Even as she looked forward to the future, continuing to strive for more and more along the way, she came to realize that she was happy. Truly, earnestly, happy, for the first time in years.

Things could only get better.

* * *

There were quite a few college students who worked in the shops along the college street, but the regulars and the veterans began to stick out over time. Rei had already begun to establish herself as one of them and was beginning to pick out the others for herself.

Though she continued to stick to the flower shop most of the time, she had begun to make friends. Across the way on the corner opposite of florist shop was the coffee shop and cafe, a regular spot for Rei to hit on her breaks after the morning rush of university students and professors had left. It was about nine thirty by the time Rei took her first break, taking advantage of the lull and walking across the street, smiling warmly as she caught the face of one of the familiar figures behind the bar.

Messy green hair and sparkling green eyes stood out from the rest, a rather tall but well filled out boy waving his hand enthusiastically as he greeted their regular customer. "Rei-san! Good morning!"

Rei smiled warmly, pulling out her card. "Good morning, Midoriya."

"The usual again?"

"Please. How was this morning?"

"Ah, not terrible. Most people still want hot drinks since it's still cool in the mornings, but I can't imagine it'll stay that way for much longer."

Handing over her card, Rei studied her friend briefly as he began humming mindlessly, clearly in a good mood like every other day. He had graduated from university in the same year as her, but had continued lingering on as a graduate student, though he claimed that he was taking his classes a little more slowly than most people so that he could continue working. It wasn't bad money after all, even if it was a cafe; he worked as a shift leader and manager, and he had already confided in Rei that he rather enjoyed working as a barista since it put him in contact with plenty of people over the day, even if most of them started as coffee deprived monsters. He was definitely a people person, and Rei wondered why he was a graduate student in research when he clearly was more suited to human interaction.

But it was the little mysteries in life that kept things lively. Passing two slices of quiche over to Rei and motioning for her to take a seat, he shouted something about taking a break to the rest of his coworkers before grabbing two cups of black coffee and joining Rei at a table near the window. The two of them began to pick away at their morning snack, a tradition that had emerged between the two of them after knowing one another for so many years. Rei had been coming to this place for years, and as one of the regulars along with one of the constants of Midoriya, the two had formed a fast friendship.

"So," Rei swallowed quickly, taking a stab at her next piece of quiche but pausing before popping it into her mouth, "have you asked Uraraka out yet?"

Midoriya choked on his food, waving his hands and reaching for his coffee in an attempt to wash the food down. His face was red, most likely from his close encounter with suffocation and his embarrassment at Rei's forwardness, stuttering his words. "R-Rei-san!"

Rei only grinned. Midoriya had grown out of his stuttering for the most part, but when he became flustered his old habits came alive. It was endearing to see that pieces of him could never be truly erased, especially when it came to the girl that he had a crush on. The girl in question worked as a waitress at one of the restaurants down the street at a spot that Midoriya and Rei frequently hit, if not for the good takoyaki, then for Rei to tease Midoriya for the entire night. "I guess that's a 'no' then?"

He rolled his eyes, chomping down on a piece of quiche more aggressively than necessary, tossing his head to the side and staring out the window in mock irritation. "I don't want to ask when she's working. That'd be rude."

Nodding her head, Rei set her fork down to sip her coffee, the strong scent of the dark roast wafting up her nose as she inhaled deep. "Good plan. But you're gonna make a move soon."

"I know."

"She's into you."

"You think so?"

This time it was Rei's turn to roll her eyes at Midoriya's apparent airheadedness. "Clearly. She barely ever looks at me when we're at the table. Only got eyes for you, cinnamon roll." Her comment earned another half hearted glare from her seat partner at the mention of the infamous incident, but it went unnoticed by Rei as she raised an eyebrow. "Speak of the devil…"

Walking up the sidewalk was the girl in question, Midoriya sitting up straight as he watched her pass by. "Is she…"

"Better get to the register fast."

He all but sprinted to the register, making it just in time before she had opened the door and making it seem seamless as he greeted her with a dopey smile. Uraraka cheerfully entered, clearly unaware of the fact that the boy greeting her had all but flipped their table upside down at the chance to interact with her. He seemed rather determined to ignore Rei's suggestive grin that she hid behind her coffee cup, watching their interactions with amusement as the bubbly girl giggled frequently and Midoriya flushed, clearly flustered but enthralled all the same.

At the same time that Rei was feeling happy for Midoriya, she couldn't help but notice the small hole in her chest. In the beginning she had a crush on her green haired friend, but she had tucked those feelings away one she realized that they had been unrequited. It was fine, especially now that she had come to value their friendship in the same way that he did. But seeing him so happy just being in Uraraka's presence made her wonder if anyone would feel that way with her.

Rei had dated a few people in college, but after the first one they had all been relatively short lived. She wasn't the kind to go flirting with people left and right, it just wasn't her type. But she was lonely, and she found herself wanting something, someone to stand by her side and joke with her and value her for who she was. Being single had its benefits; she had learned more about herself than she had known, had learned how strong she was and grown significantly as an individual. Now, she knew who she was. She was ready for someone else to know her as well, and for her to learn about someone else.

After a few minutes of chatting away Uraraka eventually left the shop, cheerfully parting from Midoriya and walking back down the street. It was after she left that Rei looked back to Midoriya, almost hesitant to break him from his dreamy state. "Oi, your quiche is getting cold."

Hearing Rei's voice snapped him out of his reverie, green eyes widening as he squeaked. "R-right!" He dashed back over, settling into the booth and digging in almost much too energetically for normal, Rei's golden eyes settling on him with suspicion and amusement.

"So, did you do it?"

"Huh?" He looked up, pausing in his bites before shaking his head emphatically. "No! I'm on duty! I can't do that!"

"Alright…" Rei sighed, finishing up the last of her quiche and sipping her coffee once again, taking the cup into both her hands as she let the warmth seep through her fingers. "I'll accept that excuse. But soon."

"Alright, alright. Soon. I promise."

It was pleasant to see how much Midoriya had changed over the past four years. He had gone from an absolute stuttering mess to a calm, yet occasionally snippish individual. Perhaps that part of Rei had worn off on his personality, her sarcasm and dry wit rubbing off on her friend. Yet he maintained his incredibly considerate and thoughtful mind, constantly thinking of others and how they felt while doing his best to encourage others in a positive light. He really had worked wonders for Rei's more negative thought processes that she had dragged to college from high school. The two of them worked together, and had changed one another for the better.

Smiling behind her cup, Rei's eyes twinkled. "Promise?"

Her final antagonization was worth the half hearted glare he lobbed in her direction, an eyebrow raised in exasperation as she chuckled to herself. There were no words needed. The duo fell into relative silence as the coffee grinder began working away, the whirring and hacking of the blades dominating the coffee shop for a minute before settling back down, ambiance returning.

"More coffee?"

Rei nodded thankfully, handing her cup over to Midoriya as he filled their cups up for a second round, the two of them blowing the scalding liquid before sipping away. They had often joked that Rei was barely functional without coffee in the morning, and it was sadly true. Even worse was the fact that she had started growing quite particular about her grinds, slowly developing an acquired taste for the pitch black beverage without any sweeteners or anything to dilute the rich taste. She often brewed her own coffee, but there was something sublime about the coffee shop across the street. Additionally, Midoriya always gave her free cups while he was on his shift, a trade that worked out whenever the cafe wanted floral decorations at a heavily discounted price. It was a good bargain, at least for Rei. And well, Hotaru was happy enough to get more promotional business as well, since they were still making a small profit off even their discounted sales.

"So," he finally continued, "now that you're done teasing me, what's new with you?"

Blinking innocently, Rei tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Ahh, don't pull that with me!" He pointed a finger accusingly at her, to which Rei responded by frowning and lifting her cup to her lips as she narrowed her eyes back at her friend. "Hasn't someone caught your eye yet? It's been a year or so since you were with someone, hasn't it?"

"Give or take," Rei conceded with a shrug of her shoulders, her manner indicating that she didn't really care about it any longer. "But no. Kind of hard when most people here are undergraduates. Feels weird."

"Yeah, okay. I get that. But still…"

Golden eyes glowered at Midoriya. "If you try to set me up, I'll murder you."

Years of being threatened by Rei had slowly taken the edge off of her words, but Midoriya chuckled sheepishly as though caught red handed. "Okay, okay. Still, are you sure you're doing alright?"

"Fine. Just needed time to myself." It was true. Having time to figure herself out had been beneficial. Heaving a sigh, Rei smiled slightly. "We've changed a lot, haven't we?"

This time Midoriya laughed a bit more confidently, smiling widely. "You've changed the most, Rei-chan. I don't think I've changed at all."

Snorting and rolling her eyes, Rei sipped at her coffee once more. Midoriya had certainly changed; he had been a gangly shrimp when they first met. Now he was tall and well built, no thanks to the fact that Rei had eventually dragged him to the gym with her almost every evening in order to have someone she could actually tolerate spotting her. But Rei had certainly changed as well; she was no longer the messy haired, chubby cheeked rebel from a small town in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere along the way she had filled out into an adult, athletic and lean, her black hair now hanging just below her shoulders. She was still sarcastic and prone to scathing comments, but she had become more subdued, more prepared to face the world. And somewhere along the way she had become more kind, more willing to listen to others, ready to offer an ear and advice instead of the turn of her shoulder. She still had a limited number of friends, but those she did have were loyal and close, just like Midoriya was still now.

"Mm. Maybe you're right."

"Of course I'm right!"

"Apologies. I forgot that grad students know everything."

"Oh, don't be like that…"

"Joking."

Midoriya laughed openly at her dryness, green eyes sparkling with amusement and joy. Even Rei couldn't help the grin on her face, though she hid it behind her coffee cup as she sipped at the liquid once again. But nothing could last forever, and as Rei barely noticed the door to the cafe opening she could certainly watch as her friend's face morphed from joy to recognition and confusion at something over her shoulder.

"K-Kacchan?!"

"Oi, Deku. Quit slacking off. Aren't you supposed to be working?"

Rei continued to sip her coffee, turning in her seat in curiosity to see what kind of person would so casually and somewhat rudely address her friend. Midoriya had stood from his seat, running around to the counter as he muttered his apologies to both Rei and his coworkers, punching in a few orders as the man began rattling off a list that was clearly meant for a few people. She raised an eyebrow as she took in his incredibly cut figure, arm muscles clearly defined underneath his long sleeve top and slim fit jeans not hiding anything either. Messy blonde hair was sculpted by an undercut, leaving a clear line of sight to his subtly pierced ears and sharp jawline and cheekbones. He was eye candy, that much was for certain, but with an attitude like that she wondered if he ever actually kept a date around for long enough for anything to happen.

He didn't seem to see her, or he was set on ignoring her glances that she tossed his way. In any case he wrapped up his order quick enough, taking off with a container of coffees to go after only a few seconds of waiting before taking off down the street. Rei watched as he passed back down the street further into the college alley, wondering briefly how she hadn't seen him coming. Wouldn't she have noticed someone as handsome as him? And if he worked here, how hadn't she seen him before?

After another minute Midoriya sat back down with Rei, heaving a sigh. Blinking, Rei's eyebrow quirked up in curiosity. "A friend?"

"Yeah." He sat up straight, coffee in his hands as he took a deep gulp before sighing, relaxing back into the booth. "Kacchan. We've known each other since we were kids."

"Kacchan?"

"Oh, Bakugou Katsuki. That's his full name."

"Right." Something clicked in Rei's brain. "You've mentioned him before, I think, right?"

"Probably." He chuckled half to himself, as though thinking of some sort of inside joke before continuing on. "He's been studying in the U.S. at art school, though he started getting more serious about tattoo artistry instead of fine arts. He's moved back recently, just got a job up the street."

Head raising, Rei's mind worked to connect the pieces together. "You mean that tattoo parlor on the other side of the bars?"

"Yeah, that one! I've never been to it yet, but I guess I've gotta check it out now that Kacchan is back."

"Hmm."

"Speaking of checking things out…"

Rei blinked twice before flushing at Midoriya's insinuation, his face turning devious as he looked at his friend. "Oh no. No, no, no."

"Oh, yes. I saw you. Though I don't think he saw you."

"Thank god." But the look on Midoriya's face didn't change, eyebrows wiggling suggestively across the table at Rei as she groaned in exasperation. "No, Midoriya. Absolutely not."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so!"

"Would you consider it? That is," he continued on before Rei interjected and shut him down completely, "if I didn't meddle. If I didn't do anything."

If it were any other person sitting across from her, Rei would have denied everything. She would have shut them down, would have said that he wasn't her type, that he was too pretentious and too… damn good looking for her. But she wasn't the lying type, especially when it came to Midoriya. He could usually tell when she was lying anyway. So instead she sighed to herself, chest heaving up and down slowly as she swallowed her pride. "Maybe."

Apparently her answer was enough for Midoriya, whose face seemed to split open in excitement. "Great! Then will you come with me when I go to visit him?"

It would have been easy to say no, were it not for the fact that this was Midoriya in front of her. Sweet, joyful, yet clearly scheming Midoriya. With another sigh Rei nodded her head, rolling her eyes at her friend. "Fine. Just don't make it embarrassing."

"Of course not! When would I?"

"Every time, Midoriya."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!"

"Cinnamon roll."

"That was one time…"

With a grin and a shake of her head Rei drained the last of her cup, setting the mug down on the table gently. "Time for me to get back. Tonight at the usual time?"

"Sure! See you after five then."

Handing her mug over, Rei slid out from the booth and made her way back across the street to the flower shop, stretching her arms and legs before getting back to work. She tried to ignore the fact that she looked down the street a little longer than usual, a certain blonde haired boy on her mind even if she had just seen him for a moment. Her curiosity had been piqued.

Curiosity killed the cat. Rei just had to figure out now if this boy would be the death of her at some point, or if Midoriya was going to kill her first.

* * *

_And think not you can direct the course of love,_

_For love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course_

_The Prophet_

_Kahlil Gibran_

* * *

A month passed. It soon became clear that, with their slightly conflicting schedules, it wasn't possible for Midoriya and Rei both to make their way down to the tattoo shop together. When one of them wasn't working, the other one was. Either that was the case or Midoriya was weighed down with schoolwork. He was still adamant that they would eventually make their way down the street together, determined as he was to make the introduction between his childhood and his college best friends, but Rei couldn't help but feel slightly relieved at the conflicts.

In any case, fate had a funny way of working out.

She had begun seeing Bakugou around more, his ash blonde mop of hair and tall stature more than easy to point out in a crowd. But surprisingly enough she never spotted him in a crowd.

The one place she did spot him was at the coffee shop.

At first it was during her morning meetings with Midoriya, as he would inevitably come in and order coffee for what she assumed were the other workers at the parlor. They never met in person, but on more than one occasion their eyes had met, recognition slowly building. They both seemed to recognition one another's connection to a green haired boy that they both knew well, though neither seemed ready to broach that wall and meet one another. So they simply nodded in passing, the mere recognition enough.

It was their style. They hadn't ever met one another personally, but they were connected. It was enough for Rei, as her heart fluttered every time he tilted his head in her direction, though she tried to keep her cool. The first time she had looked into those blood red eyes she had frozen; even now so many times later she often found herself under the same spell. It never got old.

But as the summer began to wear on and life in the college sectors slowed ever so slightly as only a handful of people remained near campus to continue summer classes, life in the college alley became more casual. Rei continued working hard, directing the other student workers that remained in town and keeping them on task at the shop while also assisting Hotaru as needed, but half an eye remained on the coffee shop as she saw a familiar figure coming down the street with increased frequency. Even if he came to get coffee in the morning, Bakugou would make afternoon appearances as well, sitting outside the cafe with another cup of coffee and a notebook in hand as he furiously scribbled away, making notes that Rei couldn't see clearly. It wasn't her business anyway, so she simply continued about her business, though her curiosity kept her eyes glancing in his direction every so often.

It wasn't her fault that he was so distracted and mesmerizing to look at.

A new routine was established. At least three times a week Bakugou would place himself outside the cafe, writing in his notebook for at least an hour before heading back down the street to what Rei assumed was his work. As the pattern became more clear she became more and more aware that his gaze was more often than not aimed in the direction of the flower shop. She wasn't so vain to think that he was looking at her, but if she thought that her curiosity was piqued before she was definitely interested now.

Two months passed, and they were well into July. It was only Rei in the store, what with some of their workers now on vacation and Hotaru taking a day off that was well deserved. It wasn't like Rei couldn't handle the shop on her own, since most of the work was fairly easy and routine for her at this point. By the time eleven o'clock rolled around Bakugou had taken up residence at his usual spot, working away at his notebook.

Rei stood behind the counter for nearly fifteen minutes, flitting around nervously. She wanted to know what he was up to; she was curious. And there was no one around, since she was the only one in the shop and she knew that Midoriya was in class already. No witnesses to embarrass herself in front of that she knew. Should she introduce herself? It was prime time, as good a time as any at this point. But still she was nervous. Would he think she was insane?

With a growl and a grimace, she steeled herself and collected her nerves before striding out of the store confidently. She would do it. She had barely stepped into the street when red eyes flashed up, watching her approach with surprise and a bit of a guarded expression on his face. Rei hesitated for a moment, but continued forward anyway, face determined. She would do this. Then, if all else failed, she could retreat into the coolness of the shop for the rest of the day.

Walking up to his table and standing across from him, she smiled, offering her hand. "Akatsuki Rei. You're Midoriya's friend, right?"

He seemed surprised that she had the guts to approach him even after he had spotted her coming from a mile away, eyes a bit wider than normal as he realized that she had actually begun talking with him. The silence between them was broken. He smirked, reaching back for her hand and shaking it firmly. "Bakugou Katsuki. That damn nerd's a pain in my ass if anything."

She would have believed him, had it not been for the fact that there was a fondness in his voice as he spoke. But she simply tilted her head, grinning at his response. "I know the feeling. Likes to butt into people's business too much for his own good."

Bakugou seemed rather pleased at her honest response, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head. He grinned, a sharp and almost feral look coming over his expression as he leered up at Rei, confidence plastered on his features. "Much like you, ain't he?"

Rolling her eyes, Rei folded her arms over her chest. Cocky. It was definitely aimed to see if she would shy away, if she would fold under pressure. But two could play at that game.

"I just came over to ask why you've been staring at my shop so much. It's a little creepy, don't you think?"

He scowled at her statement, but didn't seem to rebuff her. Instead he sat up straight, opening his journal and flipping through a few pages quickly, scanning the contents. Rei peered over, naturally curious, and was surprised to see that it was filled with drawings, the newer pages in particular filled with flowers. "Are you drawing the flowers?"

"Lotta girls want super intricate shit," he grumbled. Even though it was meant to insult his clients, she could see that it was weighing on his mind, the amount of practice he put in clear enough. "The dumbass I work with does more traditional stuff, something about 'manly prints' or whatever."

"Can I see?"

She wasn't sure what made her ask, and it was clear by his hesitance that Bakugou didn't want her flipping through his art journal. But after a moment he caved, opening up to a particular page filled with large flowers from all different angles. Touching the pages almost reverently, Rei smiled. "This was from last week, wasn't it? When we had the special on Gerbera daisies."

"That's what they're called?"

Quirking an eyebrow up, Rei looked down at Bakugou. "You mean you don't know what any of these are?"

He grumbled, muttering something under his breath as he crossed his arms over his chest defensively. Rei softened; for all the shit he had been talking, he wasn't actually so terrible. She could see the softness in his own heart, though he did his best to hide it with a tough guy attitude. Closing the notebook she handed it back to him, turning over her shoulder before tossing her head back toward him. "Come on, bring your coffee. I'll show you."

Based on his atrocious personality, she was half convinced he was going to ignore her. But after she had made it back across the street she had tossed her head back over her shoulder, noticing that he had his notebook clutched in one hand and his coffee in the other as he followed her over. Turning back around and smiling, she opened the door to the shop, holding it open and gesturing for him to follow her inside. "It's cooler in here."

Enticed by the promise of cool air, the boy stepped inside the shop after her, looking around in wonder at all the displays and refrigerators filled with bouquets and various displays. Moving to a bright display to their left, Rei began pointing to a particularly vivid bouquet with a variety of flowers, touching each one reverently. "So the small ones are Baby's Breath. I like to use them to fill empty space in the bouquets and balance out the medium sized flowers. They're almost look like some other weeds that I'm familiar with, and they don't smell the best, but they're pretty."

"What do they mean?"

Rei looked up surprised, half in shock that he had actually asked about the meaning and the other half simply in awe that he said anything at all. But he was staring at the flowers with equal intensity, observing its form with a keen eyes as he twisted around, trying to look from a variety of angles. Her face softened as she watched him, lips upturned wistfully. "Everlasting love. They were commonly used in weddings for a long time, but they also represent familial or platonic love as well. Innocence, purity without corruption. The colorful variations have other meanings as well."

He nodded as he flipped open his notebook, skipping through the pages until he came to a drawing of the same flower, making a note of the name before scanning the picture again. Looking up, he pointed with his pen to a bright yellow flower that was also on the same page. "This one. What's this?"

"Aster. These and the Chrysanthemum sprays make for bright arrangements that fill a lot of space. Like that one," Rei pointed to a yellow flower nearby, "but do you see how the petals are slightly different? You can always tell by looking at the base here."

She watched in fascination as he quickly flipped to a new page, scrawling out some notes in a corner before looking back at the flowers carefully. Then he stood up straight, looking back down at Rei. It was the first time she realized just how tall he was in comparison to her, nearly a full head higher than herself. "What about lilies?"

Smiling, Rei motioned for him to follow her through the store. They wove around the displays, moving to another case on the other side of the shop. From bottom to top there were vases crammed with lilies of a wide range of varietals, ranging from simple white to brightly colored and patterned ones. Gesturing to each one, she began rattling off more details about each type, occasionally looking over in concern when she started to get worried that she was talking too much. But Bakugou had simply opened his book again and was sketching away, taking copious notes rather diligently and rarely sparing a glance upward unless it was to look at the flowers again.

Eventually Rei fell quiet, watching as Bakugou finished up his notes. When he finally looked back up to her with a questioning gaze, she simply smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry my knowledge is admittedly limited. You should ask Hotaru when she comes back if you have any more questions."

"Nah. This was more than enough already." He paused, the smallest of smiles on his lips as he looked down warmly. "Thanks."

"Not a problem." She paused, about to say something else, but she noticed that the boy in front of her wore a similar look, as though he wanted to say something but was uncertain. So instead she closed her own mouth, waiting for him to continue.

"You… should come by the shop." He still seemed uncertain, but then came a grin on his face similar to the one he had outside. "If you're not scared, that is."

His haughty comment earned another eye roll from Rei as she shook her head. "Why would I be?"

"Needles don't scare you?"

"Of course needles scare me. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna weenie out of everything."

He snorted at her choice of words, but his lips twitched up for the briefest of moments. "Whatever. I'm guessing you don't have any tattoos yet then."

Rei tossed an amused, yet inquisitive glance in his direction. "Clearly not. Do you?"

"What kind of tattoo artist wouldn't have a tattoo?"

"I just don't see any."

"That's only for very certain people to find out."

Mortified as he raised his eyebrows suggestively, she choked, stuttering at his crass statement as he laughed at her reaction. A scowl covered her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "That's disgusting."

"And true." He walked over to the door before turning back to face Rei, a grin on his face almost daring her to listen to him. "If you ever decide to toughen up, your first tattoo is on me."

At least she had recovered at this point, raising an eyebrow back at him. "I bet you say that to all the girls you meet."

His face went soft, much to Rei's surprised as he spoke in a sultry voice that she strained to hear. "Only the ones that're my type." He left her with no option to respond, swinging the door open and striding out confidently as he walked back into the late morning sun. Left behind in the coolness of the shop, Rei was certain that her jaw was unhinged.

That… absolute asshole!

* * *

"-Can you believe it? And then he has the _audacity_-"

"Woah, Rei-chan, slow down!" It was time for their near daily work out session, Rei and Midoriya jogging nearly a mile to the local gym in the early evening. Rei had been much more aggressive than usual, still worked up from her encounter earlier in the day with Bakugou and trying to figure out exactly what he meant and what was going on in that boy's head. She had set a rather grueling pace to their spot, forcing Midoriya to keep up with her as he shot her confused looks the entire way. He didn't dare ask her what was wrong until they got to the gym and began stretching themselves up, warming up so that they could begin using the weights.

Of course, once he had asked her to open up, everything had come spilling out. He was still trying to figure out everything that had happened, eyes wide as he began to stretch his legs out and his head craned over to look at his friend. "So you met Bakugou today? How did that happen?"

"I introduced myself. He's been staring at the shop for long enough."

"Ah, right. I wondered when you would notice."

Rei stopped in her stretches, looking at Midoriya incredulously. She hissed at him, making him jolt at her sudden aggression. "You knew?!"

"I mean, yeah! He initially was sitting inside the coffee shop when he was drawing, but I told him that he should go outside, and that you wouldn't mind it…"

Snorting, she began stretching her arms out, sitting down on the ground. "He probably said something snappy to you too, didn't he?"

"Something along the lines of, 'I'll do whatever I'll damn please,' but yeah, more or less."

"His attitude is foul."

"You get used to it."

"I'm not sure I want to."

Midoriya smiled sheepishly, twisting and turning as he began to warm his torso up. "He's not so bad on the inside. It's just his exterior that's a little rough."

"Yeah, alright."

"Did anything else happen?"

"I let him come inside the shop. Apparently he didn't really know the names of any of the flowers."

Her partner snorted in amusement. "Rei-chan, not everyone's a plant genius like you and Hotaru-san."

"He asked me to come to the tattoo shop and said my first one is free."

"Yeah, that sounds-wait, what?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Rei avoided Midoriya's gaze. He was looking at her like she had just sprouted a second head, and it was making her feel self conscious. "He's rather crude when he wants to be."

"I… Rei-chan!"

Rei looked up to Midoriya innocently, blinking owlishly up at her training partner. "What?"

He continued to stand over her, though he had stopped stretching in favor of simply looking down at her in shock. Surprise. Excitement. Rei groaned instinctively. She knew where this conversation was about to go.

"Midoriya-"

"Rei-chan, this is good news! That means he likes you!"

"Midoriya, I seriously don't think-"

"No, listen!" He cut her off, eyes determined as he shut her down for once. "Not just that he likes you like that. If he said that, that means he's willing to be friends."

That was new. "Friends?"

The green haired boy nodded solemnly. "Kacchan… isn't the most open. If he ever invites you to do something, that means that he's willing to see you as a friend or an equal. He doesn't waste his time with people he doesn't like."

"I see." Rei looked to the ground, slowly continuing to stretch. If what Midoriya said was true, then at least she had gained a new friend. She could push the flirting to the side to analyze that later. She trusted Midoriya; the two boys had known each other for years, and while people had the capacity to change, they never tended to stray too far from their core selves. Even if Bakugou had changed, Rei trusted Midoriya to know how he still operated. She would trust her friend, as well as her intuition.

She would play her cards as they came. "Fine. But let's talk about something else now. How about your date with Uraraka this weekend?"

He flushed. "Ah, right! It's exciting, isn't it? I'm a little nervous…"

"You'll be fine. She's a nice girl. Just don't fuck it up."

"I know that much!"

* * *

_1_

_I sing the body electric,_

_The armies of those I love engirth me and I engirth them,_

_They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them,_

_And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the soul..._

_I sing the body electric_

_Walt Whitman_

* * *

Eventually life fell into a rhythm once again. This time, there was a new addition. Midoriya and Rei still continued their morning meetings, but every once in a while Bakugou would drop on in. At first he would immediately take his order of four coffees and leave the grounds immediately, but he slowly began starting with his own personal order and sitting down with the duo, talking and hanging out with them for a while before gathering the rest of his order and leaving back for work. Rei hadn't been sure of what to make of it, but she figured that it was as good a time as any to get to know her new friend.

As long as she could ignore the fact that Midoriya was often making suggestive faces at her every time he was confident Bakugou wasn't looking, she was fine with it all.

And really, it was more than fine. She found that she rather enjoyed Bakugou's presence, even though at first it had felt foreign and invasive. His deep voice often added another layer of snarky opinions that Rei appreciated, and it was amusing to see his reactions when he realized that Midoriya wasn't the pure packet of sugar and stutters that he used to be when they were kids. The three of them began blending together, making the most of their time before going about their days.

It didn't stop there. On days when things were slow, or when Rei was the only worker, Bakugou would come inside the shop to pick her mind about various different flowers. She was more than happy to explain things to the best of her knowledge, since most of his questions had to do with aesthetics and other things she could easily answer.

Although, sometimes he liked to throw her for a loop.

On one morning she had been halfway through an explanation of calla lilies and other varietals when he abruptly asked her a question that had been unrelated.

"What's your favorite flower?"

She blinked, surprised at the suddenness of his question, but obliged anyway, thinking carefully for a moment before responding. "Variegated tulips. Have you ever seen the tulip breaking virus?"

Upon seeing him slowly shake his head, she pulled out her phone, tapping away quickly before pulling up a few images to show him. Various tulips were striated with deep red markings all over, like wispy tendrils that stained the true flower. Bakugou opened his notebook to a new page, furiously scribbling notes away as Rei began to monologue again. "Variegated tulips have multiple colors, but tulip breaking virus came about sometime after the Dutch 'tulip mania' in the seventeenth century. It's a genetic mutation that some say is flawed, but I think it's beautiful."

"Why tulips?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Rei smiled sheepishly. "I like them better than roses. Both roses and tulips come in a variety of colors that have different meanings, but most roses these days lack a proper smell. Roses are overrated to me anyway."

He turned away from the phone, closing his notebook. "They suit you better than roses."

Rei didn't know how to respond, so she simply smiled instead. "Back to work?"

"Have you decided on a tattoo yet?"

"Questions with questions?" She teased him, but conceded. "Not yet. Just haven't had much time to seriously think about it."

"Then come over tonight. There's an opening at five."

"Seriously?"

Her only response was a raised eyebrow, as though daring her to think otherwise. Rolling her eyes, she laughed. "You're insane."

"I'll design it. You tell me where to put it. Unless you're scared."

Rei scowled. "I'm not scared."

Bakugou grinned. It was clear that he knew he had cornered her. "Then I'll see you tonight. Five o'clock."

"I have to close at five."

"Then get there when you get there. Don't make me wait."

"Cocky bast-" He walked out of the shop before she could finish her sentence, leaving her hanging once again. It wasn't the first time he had been aggressive with her like that. Though, if she thought about it logically, he was one of the few people who actually knew how to get her to do things. He knew how to push her buttons. And that was a dangerous ability.

Though similarly, she knew how to push almost all of his as well. Midoriya was a good teacher, though it wasn't terribly difficult for her to figure out. The two of them were like kindred spirits, after all. Strange, how similar personalities attracted one another.

But Bakugou was right; Rei wouldn't back out of a challenge. If anything she could tell him to make the tattoo small and hide it somewhere easily on her body. At least there was an out. But her pride wouldn't let her back out entirely, so with an exasperated sigh she set about her work for the rest of the day. There was no use slacking off; he would only be even more irritated if she showed up late, and the last thing she needed was an irritated tattoo artist working on a new permanent fixture for her body.

So she set about her work, cleaning up and making sure her shift duties were performed slightly earlier than usual, though helping her customers came first. By the time she finished with the day she was exhausted, but strangely enough looking forward to her plans for the evening. They were rather exciting, though nerve wracking. She wondered just what her blonde friend had in store for her.

There was still plenty of daylight by the time Rei finished closing shop and began making her way over to the tattoo parlor. She rarely ever went past the bars, but she had seen the other end of the street before, so making her way to the aforementioned shop was easy.

Climbing the steps to the second floor of the building, she slid into the waiting room as quietly as possible, trying not to make too much of a commotion.

"Hey there! What's going on? Looking for an appointment?"

Startled, Rei jumped as she closed the door as quietly as possible, heart jumping as she turned around quickly to look back into the room. There was a sort of receptionist desk on the other end of the room, a man with brilliantly red hair tied into a high ponytail grinning at her from his position. He walked around the desk quickly to shake her hand, grabbing Rei's hands and dwarfing them in his own as he smiled in a very Midoriya like manner. "I'm Kirishima Ejirou! What can I do for a beautiful lady like yourself?"

"Uh-" She didn't really know what to say, so she started explaining as best as possible. "I'm here for an appointment?" It came out more as a question than she had hoped, leaving the man in front of her slightly confused, but he was cheerful anyway.

"Great! Have you ever been in here before? I don't think I've seen you…"

"Back off, Kirishima. She's mine."

Rei didn't know if she wanted to relax or stiffen at Bakugou's voice as he came out from around the corner, a scowl on his face as he stared at his coworker. But at least Kirishima didn't even seemed phased, immediately backing up and giving Rei space as he continued to smile. "Oh, this is your appointment! Why do you get all the cute girls?"

"Screw off, red hair."

"That's not nice!"

But he only shrugged, motioning for Rei to follow him down the hallway as he immediately turned around and began walking away. Rei offered a tentative smile and a small bow of her head in acknowledgement before striding after her leader, walking into a new room.

From what she had imagined about tattoo parlors, she had been imagining something much darker or crammed. But the entire room was filled with natural light, traditional paper screens standing in front of the windows to provide privacy from the street outside, though Rei could still see the blue sky outside high above. It was clean and bright, making Rei feel comfortable as she breathed a sigh of relief at everything. The tools were organized, the only thing that was vaguely cluttered was a work desk that had drawings scattered all over the surface that was in the corner.

"Sit here." He gestured to a spare seat next to his desk as he began shuffling through his papers, face focused and pulled into a concentrated look. Rei sat next to the desk hesitantly, taking a moment to look at her companion for the first time that afternoon. He had taken off the light jacket he had been wearing earlier in the day for a dark tank top that revealed both of his arms, Rei noticing the beginnings of a tattoo sleeve on his right shoulder peeking out from under the fabric.

"How big is that tattoo on your shoulder?"

"Down the right side of my back and across the lower part," he answered easily, though he turned toward her with a cheeky grin on his face. "You wanna see it?"

Rolling her eyes, Rei crossed her arms and huffed. "I'm not that desperate to see you shirtless."

"You're weird."

"Shouldn't it be weird to ask you to take your shirt off? Besides, I think that you're weird for being so enthusiastic about the prospect."

"You're talking more than normal."

Shit. Was she really? "You're nervous," he continued, providing an answer before Rei could even make up an excuse. It was true, she was nervous. Perhaps that was what was making her more talkative than usual.

Finally he pulled out a sheet of paper from his desk, holding it to his chest and away from Rei so that she couldn't see it. Immediately she knew what it was, and her anxiety rose even higher in her chest. "You can make suggestions, but I'm the artist here."

"Fair enough," she conceded. "Just let me see it."

He handed the paper over to her face down, delaying the reveal for a moment longer as Rei delicately grasped the sheet in her fingertips, holding it upside down for another moment before finally flipping it over. The reveal was here. She sucked in a breath at the sight, impressed with the level of detail and with the way that it appeared delicate and alive even on paper.

On the page was a slender tulip almost exactly like the mutated ones she had shown him earlier, the petals unfurling and opening up to the world. They peeled back from the center like piece of tissue paper, overlapping one another seamlessly and appearing almost even more delicate that they were in real life. Rei held the paper up, gazing at the striations that looked almost as though he had simply printed a picture from the internet instead of drawing it by hand, the detail and organic nature of the image simply stunning.

"So, where's it going?"

Rei finally looked back to Bakugou, seeing a smug grin plastered on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You didn't even let me make any changes."

"By the way you're looking at it, I'm guessing I don't need to make any."

He was right, as always. Damn him and his confidence! But Rei was much to enthralled with the design, mind working to determine where she wanted it to go. It would make for a beautiful design running up her forearm, or perhaps running up her spine with the petals unfurling at the nape of her neck. Or perhaps on her leg. There were quite a lot of options. But she also wanted it to stay slightly hidden, at least for now, and perhaps a bit small. When she had been researching different locations, she had stumbled across a search that had told of the most painful places to put a tattoo, but now that she had seen the art she was certain of where she wanted it to go.

"Alright." Pulling her right arm backwards a bit, she dragged her finger in an upward motion along her right side. "Here, on my side, under my arm."

Bakugou was clearly surprised, face pulling together in a bit of concern. "That's gonna hurt. Like hell. Or worse than hell."

"I know. I did my research. But, right here feels right."

"Are you sure?"

"What, you not gonna offer to hold my hand when it gets tough?" She teased him, since it was only fair that he had flirted with her about seeing the rest of his tattoo. At least he found it amusing, rolling his eyes and snorting at her comment.

"No promises. Get Kirishima to hold your hand if you want to cry."

"Won't know if I will until we start."

* * *

It hurt like hell.

More than hell, actually. The stem was fine, since it was on her side, but the tulip itself was on her ribs. She had to stop a few times during the session in order to breathe and try and calm herself, each time Bakugou had asked her softly if she wanted to stop. It was a gesture she appreciated, but being too pigheaded to stop halfway she insisted on continuing through the pain.

Four hours later, it was finished. Wrapped in gauze and exhausted, Rei managed to sit up in the chair, figuring out what movements continued to hurt her while Bakugou began cleaning up. She was half tempted to poke the wound with her fingers, to prod it and see how much pain she would be in, but the rational part of her brain prevented her from any of that.

That, and her artist shot her a sharp glare as soon as he saw her fingers poised and itching to touch it.

"The hell you think you're doing?"

"Nothing."

He snorted. "Didn't seem like nothing."

Rei rolled her eyes, dropping her hands down with a dramatic sigh before grimacing at the heaving of her chest. Damn, everything really did hurt!

"You regret it yet?"

"Shut up." She was too pigheaded to regret anything, let alone tell anyone that she wanted to change her mind. At least she could focus on the fact that it would be beautiful later. What was the phrase? Beauty is pain, or something like that?

Bringing herself to sit up, she watched as Bakugou finished cleaning up his tools.

Suddenly, she blurted out her thoughts. "Do you want to get dinner?"

He didn't say anything for a moment, and immediately Rei wanted to groan from her idiocy. Stupid! What an awkward time to ask such a thing. She should have kept her mouth shut. But to her surprise, he nodded his head.

"Yeah."

"My treat." Sparing a glance at the clock, she realized that it was past nine o'clock. "Since you had to stay so late," she added, a bit apologetic. If only she hadn't asked to pause so many times, they could have been done earlier.

Bakugou only grunted in assent, finishing up with his station and cleaning his tools. It only took a few more minutes, and after the room was filled with the scent of sanitizing solution and he grabbed his jacket that had been draped across his desk chair, the duo were ready to go. Walking ahead of his client, Bakugou opened the doors for Rei, a gesture that made her smile shyly and mutter her thanks every time. He just nodded, a surprisingly soft look on his face as they made their way back through the building and into the street.

Shuddering at the coldness, Rei wrapped her arms around herself as she looked up and down the street. It was a weeknight, and most places were looking to close within the next hour. A little ways down the street and across the way, a familiar lighted sign drew Rei's attention, and she looked over to her companion for the evening while pointing at the restaurant that had caught her gaze.

"How about barbeque?"

She laughed at the way his face lit up as his gaze followed her pointed finger, blood red eyes sparkling even in the darkness, covering her mouth with her free hand as she chuckled. He threw a lazy look in her direction, as though exasperated by her amusement, but the corner of his lips turned up sheepishly anyway. With their decision made, the two of them quickly crossed the street and made their way into the eatery.

It was still lively, considering the fact that it was a weekday. Most of the patrons were college students, most likely getting back together for dinner after summer vacation. The chatter was lively and borderline raucous, and Rei couldn't help but feel slightly relaxed at the noise around her as the two were led over to a booth. At least it wouldn't be awkwardly quiet in here.

Sliding into their seats, they both scanned over the menu quickly before setting them aside. They were locals, after all. Both of them had been to every spot on the street at least twice at this point, or at least Rei had anyway after living here for years. But Bakugou was clearly familiar with the menu as well, and as the two waited for their server to return he leaned forward onto the table.

"How's it feel?"

For a moment Rei forgot about the tattoo, so caught off guard that her brain short circuited for a second before responding. She was tempted to touch it again, but she knew that the man sitting across from her would only glare daggers into her skull. So instead she winced a bit. It was still throbbing, after all. "Hurts, but not bad."

He nodded, as though expecting her to say as much. "Take the bandages off probably tonight when you shower. Try not to touch it, and don't scrub it. Wash it gently with soap."

"Sure." She hesitated for a moment before tilting her chin in his direction, looking back at his arm. He had taken off his jacket, now sitting once again in a tank top with his tattoo partially revealed. "Seriously, though. How many tattoos do you have?"

"Not enough."

Rei snorted, rolling her eyes. "Of course."

"The one you see on my arm actually started as one on my back." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, pointing generally in its direction. "Had a friend back in the States that was into the water color style. Kirishima extended the sky motifs into my shoulder a couple months ago."

"Kirishima… the guy with red hair?"

"Yeah. That idiot wanted to do it as 'bonding experience,' or whatever shit."

Rei smiled, folding her hands in front of her on the table and leaning forward. "He seems nice."

"He's an idiot."

"A nice idiot."

"Still an idiot."

At this point their waitress had returned with tea, taking their orders quickly with a smile and turning on the stove in front of them before disappearing once again. Rei blinked, trying to remember where they had left off. "So, is that the only one you have?"

Bakugou wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, a sharp grin on his face. "You wanna find out?"

Her knee jerk reaction was an eyeroll, though Rei laughed softly along with it. "Depends. Are you gonna charge me for it?"

"Depends. I'm gonna order sake."

Rei's jaw dropped open. "I didn't say I'd pay for a five course meal."

"Relax. Besides, you can't drink with that tattoo still new. But I can."

Scoffing, Rei folded her arms over her chest, though she winced from the movement, her ribs still tender. "I can't believe you."

He only sent a brilliant grin across the table her way, immediately catching her off guard and making her relax. Damn, him! He was beautiful, and he definitely knew it. But by the time the food started coming and the conversation continued to flow naturally over the course of the meal, Rei found her defenses lowering bit by bit, second by second.

Damn her and her weak sensibility!

Surprisingly, tipsy Bakugou was even flirtier than he normally was. Equally surprising was the fact that Rei was growing more and more comfortable, the jokes they threw across the table coming more naturally as they continued to learn more about one another. She hadn't realized until she was nearly halfway through her story that she had already begun telling him about her hometown, and how she had essentially up and left as soon as she had finished high school. But even more surprising was the fact that he had listened, actually listened, the entire time, even asking more questions about herself. When was the last time she had opened up like this with someone else? Surely it was a testament to how much the boy across from her was becoming a staple in her life.

By the time the restaurant was closing, Rei and Bakugou had fought over the bill. It hadn't been pretty either. He had swiped the check before Rei even had a chance, leading to a new bickering session that Rei was certain their waitress was beginning to tire of. So instead she swallowed her pride as the two walked out into the night, laughing about something he had said about one of the couples still inside the restaurant.

The night air was even crisper and cooler than before, a sure sign that autumn was on its way. Shivering in the coolness, Rei jumped as a heavy piece of fabric draped around her shoulders, golden eyes looking up in surprise as her companion averted his gaze, trying to act casual. Blinking in surprise, Rei wanted to scowl, but found she couldn't as she huddled under the warmth of the black jacket. "Aren't you cold?"

"Not as cold as you. You're shivering like a wet dog."

Rei scowled. "That's not nice."

"Take the jacket, gorgeous. You need it more than me." He immediately stiffened at his slip up, frantically looking down at Rei, but she only tossed her head back and laughed in response.

Gleefully her eyes lit up, a sparkle in them as she grinned. "Are you that tipsy?"

The only response she received was an eyeroll and a huff as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "Whatever."

"That's much nicer than saying I look like a wet dog."

"I didn't say that!"

"Close enough!"

"You're impossible."

Rei laughed again, and this time Bakugou relaxed a little more, most likely since she had responded rather well to his slip up. Snuggling into the jacket and wrapping her arms around herself, she snuck a few looks over to her friend. His cheeks were barely flushed, barely even visible in the low lighting and only when they passed under brighter lights from the shops around them. With a bit of concern, Rei bit her lip before speaking. "How far do you live from here?"

He shrugged. "About fifteen minutes by train."

"Hmm." Shaking her head, Rei smiled again. "Stay at my place. I have extra blankets and a couch."

The devious look came back onto his face, and Rei almost knew what he was about to say before it even left his lips. "You sure you don't need me to keep you warm?"

"I can change my mind."

"Hah! You won't!"

"Watch me!"

But they both knew that she didn't have it in her, at least not at the moment. With grins on their faces, Rei led the way back to the flower shop, unlocking the door and letting her companion squeeze inside before locking it once more. "It's the least I can do, since you didn't let me pay for dinner."

"Whatever." His eyes continued to linger on the flowers in the shop until Rei led him back into another area of the shop, the two ascending a flight of stairs and making their way to the third floor of the flat. The second floor was Hotaru and Reina's, since they had mentioned something about not wanting to climb so many stairs at the end of the day, leaving Rei the top floor to herself. It had been more than anything she had ever wanted, with a fantastic view of the entrance to the university across the way and plenty of sunlight during the day. Truly, more than anything she could have ever wanted as a small town girl simply looking to escape.

Flicking on the lights to the apartment, Rei carefully set her shoes into a shoe rack near the door before padding on inside. "Sorry, it's kind of messy right now. Did you want to shower first?"

Bakugou entered the house a little more slowly, sliding off his shoes and setting them to the side behind the door. He still nodded. "Sure."

"Let me grab a towel."

Rei felt like she was bumbling around the house for the first time in a while. Damn it, she hadn't been expecting guests, let alone a guy that she considered rather attractive! But after what felt like an eternity but had probably only been a few seconds, Bakugou was finally in the shower with a change of clothes that Rei had scrounged for, an oversized t-shirt from her and surprisingly a pair of shorts that were most likely from her previous boyfriend. Thankfully he hadn't asked where she had gotten the shorts, instead taking them without question. With a sigh of relief Rei began pulling out a set of sheets and blankets and stacking them on the side for him to use later.

This definitely was not the plan. She had barely even planned to get a tattoo today, and that was only because Bakugou had essentially dared her and appealed to her more rebellious side. Her original plan had been to do some laundry and to have a relaxing evening probably watching some television shows, not getting a tattoo and eating dinner with a guy she had definitely developed a crush on over the past few months. But here they were, said guy in question ready to stay a night over. Platonically. Rei's eyes narrowed.

Nothing romantic here.

But the gut feeling had returned, the knot in her stomach that had refused to unravel since the first day she had seen him. And now it was growing bigger and bigger, undeniable at this point. Midoriya had said that Bakugou most likely considered her a friend at this point. Could it be something more?

She needed a distraction. Glancing at the clock, she noted that it was still barely past ten o'clock at night. Late, but not late enough yet. A cup of tea was just what she needed.

By the time Bakugou had finished showering the kettle was ready and Rei had brought out her laptop, some house redecorating show pulled up on the screen. She had put one steaming mug on the coffee table, the other clutched in her hands as he leaned back on the sofa, eyes trained on the show. The sound of footsteps, however, was enough to break her concentration, and her eyes lifted to look at an even better looking sight.

The most amusing thing she immediately noticed was that his hair somehow was sticking up at odd angles, like it could never be tamed even with water. Ash blonde locks were tousled over at all angles and degrees, jutting up in some places and flopping over in others. It was a messy look that suited him rather well, but Rei's eyes found themselves wandering over the rest of his muscular figure. It was obvious that he worked out, what with his rippling muscles even standing out from underneath the shirt. Rei worked out too, but it just didn't seem fair how attractive he was, like he had walked out of a photoshoot even just wearing her crappy oversized t-shirt.

To her misfortune, she clearly hadn't been subtle about it either. A grin spread across his face as he strutted over to the couch. "You like what you see?"

Rei only rolled her eyes, sipping her tea as her eyes immediately turned back to the show on her computer. "Cocky bastard."

He sat down carefully, Rei handing him a cup of tea which he accepted gratefully. They weren't quite curled up on the couch together, but if one of them moved just so…

Apparently Bakugou wasn't about to play the waiting game, instead throwing his arm casually over the back of the couch and behind Rei. She smiled. Matching his style, she inched slightly closer to him on the couch, enough so that her arm leaned into his side comfortably.

Neither had moved their eyes from the show on her laptop, neither able to see the stupid grins on their faces that they were trying to hide terribly.

Eventually Rei began to grow drowsy, the yawns coming on faster and faster. Even Bakugou wasn't beyond sleep's grasp. After the ending of another episode, Rei finally pulled away, no matter how much she wanted to stay where she was. Not yet.

Standing up from the couch, she took her companion's mug of tea and walked the dishes over to the sink, leaving them there. Tonight's problems would be tomorrow-Rei's problems, in multiple senses. Starting to turn off the lights, Rei smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, but I have to get up early tomorrow. Hotaru's out of town."

Bakugou stifled his own yawn as he nodded, relaxing into the couch. "'S fine. Thanks."

"Good night."

"Night."

She almost wanted to take her word back. She wanted to stay curled up on the couch with him, or to invite him back to her room. Her heart clenched at such thoughts, but before she could act she turned her back and closed her door, making her way to the shower before she could change her mind.

No, she couldn't. Even if there were so many signs, she wasn't sure. She wasn't ready. She didn't want to let this slide through her fingers just yet. She wanted to relish in the moment.

So instead she marched into the shower, ready to get ready for sleep. Who knew if she'd be able to fall asleep though, now that her imagination was running wild…

* * *

_4_

_I have perceiv'd that to be with those I like is enough,_

_To stop in company with the rest at evening is enough,_

_To be surrounded by beautiful, curious, breathing, laughing flesh is enough,_

_To pass among one of them or touch any one, or rest my arm ever so lightly round his or her neck for a moment, what is this then?_

_I do not ask any more delight, I swim in it as in a sea…_

_I Sing the Body Electric_

_Walt Whitman_

* * *

When Rei's gentle alarm rang at seven in the morning, she couldn't help the groan that escaped her throat. Her side was still aching, as it probably would be for at least a few more days. She wanted nothing more than to down a painkiller and take the day easy, but another free day wouldn't be coming for a while now. So instead she pulled herself from sleep's clutches and dressed in her usual clothes, black pants and a blouse tucked beneath a green apron with the flower shop's logo embroidered over the heart.

Before she could even get to her bedroom door, her heart jumped. Bakugou had stayed over. Was he still here? Tiptoeing out into the living room, she smiled at the familiar sight of a mop of ash blonde hair peeking over the couch arm. She skulked around the room, finding a sticky note and pen and jotting a note for him, leaving it taped to her bedroom door as she closed it behind her.

_Working downstairs_

_Text me if you need anything_

Scrawling her number hastily, she darted back into her room to grab the aforementioned item, shoving it into her apron pocket before grabbing her keys and speedily sneaking out the front door as quietly as possible. Thankfully the house was still in good repair, no squeaking door hinges or staircases as she descended to the ground level, trying to keep her footsteps muffled. Another yawn escaped from her mouth as she pressed a hand to her lips, trying to obscure the motion as she walked into the shop. At least she didn't need to actually open until nearly ten. Still, there was work to be done.

As the blood began to flow, the work became easier. Lifting things was still difficult, thanks to the ink job on her side, but nothing was impossible. Soon she was back into the cadence of things, shuffling around the shop and tending the flowers, in addition to other clean up things that she had missed the previous day.

Still, she was beginning to get hungry. Her stomach growled, a loud noise in such a quiet space. To her surprise, a chuckle sounded from the backroom, and she whipped around to see Bakugou leaning in the doorway casually. He had one arm pressed against the doorframe, the other inside the pocket of the shorts he was still wearing as pajamas. It really was rather unfair that he looked so good in anything, even if it was just throw away clothes.

Scowling at his perfection, Rei folded her arms across her chest. "What are you doing down here?"

"Looking for food." Red eyes scanned her up and down, almost seductively. "Looks like I found some."

This time Rei flushed deeply, folding her arms over her chest as Bakugou laughed at her embarrassment. Golden eyes attempted to level the man in front of her, though it was impossible now that he was clearly in a good mood from being able to fluster her so easily. Scowling, she walked over and shoved him backwards, to her displeasure only making him briefly off balance before he caught himself. "Go be annoying somewhere else."

"You love it."

Her only response was to turn around so that he could no longer see her mortification. "Don't you have to get to work?"

"Kirishima opens up. I just bring coffee eventually."

"So I can't get rid of you then."

"Do you want to?"

Huffing, Rei finally turned back to Bakugou after adjusting another flower stand, eyes glittering in the sunlight. He hadn't been willing to play the coy waiting game last night, and Rei didn't particularly feel like dancing in circles around her attraction to him. "Not particularly," she eventually conceded, "no."

He flashed another smile in her direction. "I'll be back."

His cryptic exit only earned another eye roll from Rei, though it was accompanied by a smile this time. When he next appeared five minutes later he was dressed in his pants and his jacket on top of the t-shirt Rei had given him, looking much more ready for the day. Sliding the apron from her body, she placed it on a hook behind the register, the two of them making their way to the door.

Suddenly Bakugou stopped in the middle of the store, grabbing Rei's hand to make her stop with him. She turned around, lips parted and ready to ask what was wrong, but she froze as one of his hands lifted to cup her chin, tilting her head upward ever so slightly.

The moment seemed to freeze for a moment as Rei stared up, golden eyes clashing with blood red. In the hazy morning sunlight that streamed in golden rays through the windows of the shop, the air was almost magical, suspended in time. Her breath hitched upon recognizing the emotions on his face, the reassured determination in his eyes, the softness with which he looked down upon her. Then his lips were softly pressed against hers, and she closed her eyes at the sensation.

This wasn't her first kiss. But it was all the better, so that she could appreciate the lack of clumsiness but also the shyness and delicate way he handled her. It was almost uncertain, what with the way that he held her like she would break in between his fingers, as though nervous about what she would do in response and giving her the space to back away if needed. In reassuring him she slowly snaked an arm up his chest and rested it on the side of his neck, distractedly noticing the way his heart raced beneath her fingertips. Leaning in and upward as best she could, she closed the distance between them physically, drawing them both in naturally.

It didn't last for much longer, but even as the two pulled away their bodies continued to linger close to one another. Eventually Rei retracted her arm slowly, almost regretful that they had to break the moment. Withdrawing slightly, Bakugou moved his hand from her face, tracing his fingertips down her neck and over her shoulder until it slid down to grab her slender hand in his own. Rei flushed again at the tenderness, though she looked up expectantly, waiting for him to say something.

Bakugou's lips parted, but nothing came out for a moment. Then he shook his head, chest rumbling with laughter. "Damn. I forgot what I was gonna say."

Rei couldn't hide the laugh that burbled in her own chest, squeezing his hand in her own as she looked up at him. He smiled shyly, a look that she never would have thought to ascribe to him, but even the chiseled god of sarcasm and anger himself was capable of such a range of emotion. She quirked an eyebrow, grinning widely. "That good, huh?"

"The best."

This time Rei didn't flush, but she tilted her head and looked away at the compliment, a grin still plastered across her face. "Good." Swallowing whatever shreds of pride she had remaining, she cheekily grinned back at Bakugou. "You're not bad for being such an asshole all the time."

She only received an eye roll. "Remind me who gave you a free tattoo?"

"The best tattoo artist this side of the United States?"

That at least seemed to perk up his ego again, the grin returning. Swooping down again, he pressed a surprisingly delicate kiss against her forehead quickly before standing back up to his full height. "Coffee?"

That was enough to get Rei going. "Please."

To her surprise, he slid a hand into her own, their fingers interlacing pleasantly. Rei startled for a moment at the sensation, but found that she was rather pleased instead. Stepping out the shop, the two crossed the street and made their way into the coffee shop that was a part of their morning routine.

As soon as they stepped inside the coffee shop, Rei groaned. Standing at the register was none other than Midoriya, who looked up at his two friends' approach. He smiled widely though confusedly at their simultaneous entrance, until his gaze wandered downward and saw their hands intertwined. Green eyes alit, he nearly jumped into the air enthusiastically, though he settled instead for standing up straighter and practically shouting at the pair with a pointed finger. "Ah! I knew it!"

"Shut it, damn Deku."

Bakugou growled at his friend, tugging Rei forward as they approached the register. Unable to meet Midoriya's victorious look, she instead stared to the side as Bakugou ordered, too embarrassed and already mentally preparing herself for Midoriya's onslaught of questions and incessant teasing later on. To her fortune though, the green haired boy simply handed over their coffee and remained behind the register, giving the two of them a bit of privacy, although he wasn't above wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at Rei when Bakugou wasn't looking. In return she simply raised a middle finger at him, earning a mock gasp and a hand clasped dramatically over his chest, as though he would faint from the sight.

Shaking her head at her friend's antics, she followed Bakugou to a booth around a corner, the two settling down to sip their coffee. For a moment they were quiet, content to sip their beverages and look out at the street, collecting their thoughts.

Bakugou was the first to speak. "Go out with me."

Rei blinked. "That escalated quickly."

Cherry red eyes rolled in their sockets at her dry humor, lips twitching upward for a moment. He remained silent, waiting for an answer. Eventually Rei sighed, a wry smile twisting at her lips. "I suppose there are worse things to do."

She earned another eyeroll, but this time he smiled genuinely. "You can drink this time."

Recalling that he had prevented her from drinking the previous night due to her recent tattoo, Rei smiled widely. "Now we're talking."

"So alcohol is incentive. Good to know."

"Wouldn't it be for you as well?"

Throwing back the rest of his coffee in a very shot-like manner, Bakugou grinned. "Nah. I've got other incentives for going out with a gorgeous woman."

Rei tried to glower at him, but found it impossible to keep her face straight. "You're impossible."

"Then why the hell do you like me?"

"Well, it certainly isn't your personality."

He snorted, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. But the faux irritation faded away, and instead he was left smiling rather genuinely at Rei. She soaked up the affection and the kindness, smiling back.

"I've gotta get to work. Kirishima's gonna be on my ass."

"See you tonight?"

"Seven o'clock. I'll be by your shop."

"Don't be late."

"Don't keep me waiting."

Rei grinned, raising a hand in parting. "Bye."

He scooted out of the booth, shocking Rei by smoothly maneuvering over to her side and bending down to place a kiss on her cheek. It had been so sudden, so unexpected that she simply froze for a moment, unable to process anything except the cheeky grin on the blonde's face. Then he turned on his heel to order more coffee, assumedly for the other workers, before striding out the door with one final grin in Rei's direction and vanishing down the street.

Almost as soon as Bakugou was out of sight, Midoriya was sitting down in the booth with fresh cups of coffee for the both of them.

"What was _that_?"

Voice hissing at Rei, he demanded details, impatient to wait any longer. So she filled him in, going over how he had invited her over to the tattoo shop to get a tattoo the previous night and how she had stuttered out with an invitation to catch dinner afterward. She went over how that had led to even more conversation about their lives, and how casual and relaxed things had been, along with how easy it was to get along with the man. She glossed over the details about how Bakugou had ended up staying over at her place, until Midoriya had stopped her mid-sentence and demanded that she give him every single detail, under threat of no longer providing her with free coffee.

So she caved. She told him everything, every detail, and when she had finished her story she continued to talk. She admitted how she felt, how she had been wrong (though not in those exact words) about having feelings for the blonde boy with beautiful red eyes. She told Midoriya everything she felt, every piece, skipping over none of it.

When she was finally finished Midoriya simply had a serene smile on his face. Eye twitching, Rei sipped at her coffee. "Spit it out."

"I'm happy for you, Rei."

"Huh?"

"You're not running anymore. I'm happy for you," he reiterated. "You've changed, and in a good way."

Rei's lips twitched up. "Is spontaneously getting a tattoo really a good thing?"

"Oh, right! I want to see it!"

"Later. It's still red and puffy."

"So, what's the next step?"

For a moment Rei thought that Midoriya was talking about tattoo care, until she looked into his eyes and saw the thoughtfulness returning once again. She had to collect her thoughts, earnestly putting some thought into her response. Eventually she spoke. "Just take it day by day. I'm not running anymore."

He seemed to like her answer, enthusiastically nodding and taking another long draught of coffee. "Good."

"So, how's Uraraka?"

"Oh, it's great! By the way, did I tell you about…"

* * *

_A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it._

_It just blooms._

_Sensei Ogui_

* * *

When she left her hometown, she hadn't looked back.

Now, more often than not, she found herself thinking about the old days. It wasn't like she had suddenly gained a new perspective, or had suddenly grown wistful. The reflection more came from a place of thankfulness.

If she hadn't struggled then, she never would have gotten out of that town.

If she hadn't gotten out of that town, she never would have made a new life here.

If she hadn't made a new life here, she would never have met Bakugou and all her friends.

She never wanted to go back to her hometown; at least that much hadn't changed. But there was a newfound appreciation for her troubled past, for the series of tough events that had led to her eventual wandering and self imposed exile from that place. Those childhood times had acted as a catalyst into the times where she now found herself; surrounded by friends, and those she loved.

The months flew by. Some things changed. Some things didn't. Student workers from the university came and went. Rei's friend group remained the same, and even stretched to include the workers from the tattoo parlor and Uraraka's restaurant. It was a riot when they all got together, a sort of cohesive chaos.

They were all sitting in a different restaurant, celebrating Midoriya's graduation from his program and new position at the university as a professor. While Midoriya and Uraraka fluttered around, entertaining their guests and running the show, Rei sat in a booth next to Bakugou, their hands intertwined as they watched the scene around them.

It wasn't perfect, but it was good.

She had hoped that things would work out for the best.

They had.

* * *

AN: Surprise!

I know I mentioned a while back that I had plans to upload another AU chapter, but I just never got around to finishing it. But holy hell, twelve reviews in the last two days alone? You all are too kind to me. Seriously, **the reviews on the last chapter motivated me to finish this AU idea for you all**. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's a little bit weird with timing, now that we're in the middle of the action, but I decided to do a midweek update so that it wouldn't disturb the rest of the updating schedule. So here we are!

I've been working on this idea ever since the other EP ending AU did so well (chapter 13). But it's finally finished. I hit a few road blocks, but I wanted to crank this out for all of you.

But especially for all those who reviewed last chapter.

**So a deep thank you for all the reviews...**

**dragontamer64**: I totally understand those feels! I text terribly to be honest... so many missed "send" texts... I've mostly been nervous about the next few chapters because I don't know how people will receive them. But apparently everyone has really enjoyed it so far, so we'll see how it goes from here! And I'm glad that you picked up on the subtle hints about Rei's kidnapping; there were a few hints here and there, but I tried to keep it super super subtle so that it would be surprising in the end. I will try to incorporate more bloopers in the future, especially since some chapters will be serious, but the one's I'm writing right now could probably use a bit more humor. Thanks again for the review!

**Taffdog19943**: Yay! It always makes me happy to hear that people like this story so far.

**IrisL'nfer**: Thank you so much! I've been working a lot on my writing, so to hear that you really enjoy it means a lot to me. And don't worry, the children will be okay! ... Mostly.

**Anseo**: Yes, the secret is out! Well, more out than she would like it to be. And I do promise that we will get a bit of Bakugou's perspective on things (even if it's just a tad), so please look forward to that! Honestly I feel like I'm better at writing the bittersweet perspective than anything else, so I'm glad the emotions are really conveying well. Thanks again!

**Guest**: I'm glad that this chapter was good! This was kind of a big reveal in terms of where I wanted Rei to be in the arc, so I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**RandomThingz123**: Thank you so much for your review! I really appreciate it, and I'm glad you decided to leave something! It's always interesting to see who's been here since the beginning, although I always say that there's no shame in joining in later on too, as long as you're a fan! Thank you so much for your kind words; it really means a lot that you love this story so much. I will do my best to continue the good work!

**SavNic4**: I'm happy that you love these updates! I hope that this surprise update was a good one!

**Mads-Chikistorm**: Aaaah thank you! Although, please don't commit murder! I will do my best to continue updating and keeping the good content going.

**DominoDuh**: Ahahah I had to go back and look at exactly what I wrote for Chapter 20, but I'm so glad you enjoyed that chapter! That was one where I initially wrote a draft, edited, and then decided that I wanted to add more, so I'm glad you loved it. I'm getting better at romance (I really tried to pull as many stops as possible for this one), though my comfort zone is more bittersweet and sad feelings. Thank you so much!

**Ansegiel**: Mwahahaha... just kidding don't be scared. Or maybe do? In any case, things will work out! I hope this chapter was a little more fluffy and relaxing.

**13rini**: Thank you! I figure that as long as the content is there, no one can really be upset. It's not like they'll be half-assed anyway, so there's that! I hope you enjoy this story.

**yaoi4adollar**: I have delivered! (throws glitter in the air). Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

**ILikeFoxes828**: No problem! Please enjoy holiday, and I hope that this chapter really delivered.

**Please leave a review and tell me what you think!**

**Or, do you have any other ideas for an AU you'd like to see?**

**Let me know!**

**See you all on Saturday for another regular update :)**


	29. Waiting Game

**Chapter 29**

**Waiting Game**

* * *

"_Why don't we have a chat?" _

_Silence. _

"_I apologize. The sensation of being transported is, admittedly, less than pleasant. But you, you're a fighter, aren't you? In spite of the odds, you've never crumbled, never swayed. You haven't changed, even after all these years." _

"_You've been watching me?" _

"_Nerves of steel, too. A perfect fit for the job I have for you. Won't you join me, dear Akatsuki?" _

"_Who are you?" _

_Even though his face was obscured, Rei could practically feel the smile radiating from behind the mask. _

"_I am called All For One."_

She had never heard of such a villain in recent news. How could she, if he was truly as great as she was making him out to be? Any mastermind behind Shigaraki that had managed to hide for this long had to be cunning enough to hide himself from the public. He was a genius, that much was certain. Rei would have to tread carefully from here on out.

Standing up straight, her eyes darted around the space. But the villain noticed her motions, clicking his tongue in admonishment. "I wouldn't try to escape. After all, you wouldn't want your precious friend hurt, would you? The boy Bakugou? He is a classmate of yours, after all."

Rei sucked in a sharp breath at the mention of Bakugou's name, body seizing up as she froze, her eyes returning to the man in front of her. So he hadn't escaped as she had hoped. Their operation had failed. What had happened to the rest of their classmates? Was Midoriya safe?

Memories of the forest came flooding back, and Rei had to grit her teeth in order to find her resolve. Getting emotional wasn't going to help.

Breathe. Keep calm. Inhaling deeply before slowly exhaling, she gathered her wits about herself. She had been captured by the villains. Her next step, if she couldn't escape, was to survive as long as possible before the heroes or the police could find her. The villains had already given the fact away that they wanted her alive, as well as Bakugou, at least for now. For the moment, she could breathe easy.

She was in the survival game now. If she played her cards right, she could potentially survive this. If she was dealt a winning hand, she could surely gain good information on the villains to give to the authorities later. Of course, that all depended on how long she could keep her head attached to her body and keep herself alive.

Play along. That was all she could do. So with another deep breath she dropped her shoulders. "What do you want from me?"

The villain's demeanor changed again, seeming to grow with delight with every word she spoke. "Getting down to the point, aren't we? Smart girl. No wonder you were accepted into U.A."

It was strange, receiving such praise and so many compliments from a villain, but it only made Rei sharpen her mind further. This All for One was clearly a wordsmith, an eloquent individual, more than capable of talking his way through an encounter without using his quirk. He hadn't even revealed his quirk yet, although Rei suspected it was the warping quirk since Tomura's team already had a warp gate. But something seemed off about this entire encounter, and Rei tucked that thought away in her pocket, keeping it near the forefront of her mind so that she could remain on guard.

She remained silent, waiting for the villain to continue. He seemed pleased, acquiescing to her subtle prod. "I have met many brilliant minds in my time. Few have shown the potential you wield." Gesturing with his massive hand to something behind her, he nodded his head. "Perhaps you should take a seat."

Rei suddenly noticed the wooden chair that manifested-or had it been there all along?-and tentatively sat down, slowly, her eyes flickering between the object and the villain in front of her. She would play along for now. What choice did she have but to play the game?

The board was set. Even if it was against her will, against the odds, she would have to move along.

* * *

Reina was no stranger to change. Changes came and went, and although she couldn't say that she had a great amount of life experience, what little she had so far had taught her to be flexible. More often than not, change was inevitable. In business, it was often made to accelerate something or to improve some aspects in order to make things more efficient. It didn't do well to get picky or uptight about alterations or amendments, especially when they were usually for the better. Even if things turned out for the worst, all one could do was roll with the punches and determine a better route.

After the phone call came, Reina knew that things were about to change drastically.

It had been a regular evening spent in the company of Hotaru at their house, the two of them ordering take out and staying in to watch a movie and relax. Moments alone and of respite were getting fewer and further in between now that Reina had been promoted to the CEO of her parent's company, and the work was slowly piling up. She was efficient in how she managed her time, but there were moments when she needed a break, even though she rarely articulated her needs. It was Hotaru instead who was forced to realize when her girlfriend needed a break, closing the laptop and pulling her away from the stresses and strains.

They had been lounging on the couch with the credits rolling on a dark screen, neither wanting to move from their position curled up next to one another. But Reina's phone began to ring on the table. Frowning, Reina picked up the electronic device, an unfamiliar number on the screen. Still she picked it up anyway. It was possible that it was work related, and it wouldn't do to pile up the work for the next day when she was awake anyway.

Lifting the phone to her ear, she cleared her throat before speaking. "Fujiwara Reina speaking."

"_Fujiwara-san. This is Aizawa Shoto from U.A." _

Reina immediately stiffened at the voice, sitting up straight and lifting her back from the couch as she snapped to attention. She had never met this Aizawa in person, but she knew enough about him from listening to Rei talk about her homeroom teacher and his gruff personality but sometimes crazed intelligence. There was something in his voice that put her on high alert, along with the hour of the call.

Next to her, Hotaru also sat up a bit straighter at her partner's sudden alertness, brows furrowing as she silently asked what was wrong. The two exchanged a look before Reina responded. "Aizawa-sensei. What can I do for you?"

"_I won't beat around the bush. I apologize for my brusqueness. There has been an incident at the camp." _

Immediately Reina's gut dropped. Speaking quickly but articulately into the phone, she tried to calm herself down and reassure herself that it was nothing terrible. "Do I need to come and pick Rei up? Is she alright?"

The silence on the other end was telling enough. It was only for a moment, but Reina could read even a moment's hesitation. She forced herself to swallow any other words or questions she had, reverting into business mode in order to control herself. She needed answers, and she wouldn't get anything if she continued to talk over the only person who could give her a response.

"_Akatsuki-san… has gone missing." _

"What?" Pulling the phone away from her ear, she put the device on speaker so that Hotaru could be in on the conversation as well. She continued to hold on tightly to the phone in her hand, so much so that her knuckles began turning white. Hotaru looped her arm over Reina's shoulders, pulling the two together as they stared down at the bright screen.

Aizawa continued. "_There was a villain attack, and two students were captured tonight. Akatsuki-san was one, and Bakugou Katsuki was the other." _

The two women exchanged another look. This time it was surprise at the names. Bakugou Katsuki, the son of their next door neighbors? The boy that Rei had a crush on? There would be time to dissect this later, but the only thought that flashed through Reina's mind was that at least there would be another couple they could look to for consolation.

"_We wanted to alert you before the media grabbed a hold of this story. Seeing as Akatsuki-san has no parental guardians and you were listed as an emergency contact, I surmised that you would benefit the most from the call." _

The reminder of Rei's family situation was like a punch in the gut, coming from the mouth of a near stranger. It hurt to be reminded that Rei was alone, but for some reason Reina's gut twisted for another reason. Was this bitterness? After all, she had done so much for Reina, had literally taken the girl into her own home and essentially adopted her in every sense except for on the official papers. And after all was said and done, she was still nothing more than the emergency contact, the sidelined character in the story that only assisted in the most minimal fashion, to step in when no one else could, the last resort?

Hotaru nudged Reina, urging her to say something. The line had gone quiet, Aizawa waiting patiently for a response. Shaking herself from her selfish thoughts, Reina spoke quietly. "Thank you, Aizawa-sensei, for your consideration, and for telling us upfront."

He grunted in assent. "_I know this is difficult, but we are currently working with the police and doing everything in our power to get them back. We will call you with any further updates. Furthermore, this number is a direct line to my personal phone. If there is anything else you need, please do not hesitate to call." _

Strange. It was unlike anyone to give out personal numbers in this case. Was Rei closer to Aizawa than she had previously known? Under his blunt and brusque exterior, as Rei had mentioned so many times, did he truly personally care for his students? It would seem as though that were the case. It wasn't enough to put a smile on her face, but it was enough to warm her heart just a bit.

"We will await any updates," she finally settled on. There was nothing else to do, except leave things to the professionals. "We leave her rescue in your hands."

"_Thank you for your trust and patience. We will work as fast as we can to resolve this conflict." _

"Thank you. Good night."

The line went dead, the phone beeping a few final times before the screen went dark. For a moment Reina continued to stare at the phone in her hands, all before gently placing it back on the coffee table. Sitting forward she placed her head in her hands, heaving a heavy sigh.

Hotaru sat up straight as well, rubbing circles into her partner's back. For a while the two simply sat in silence, digesting everything that had just been divulged to them. The television had flickered back to the title screen, illuminating the room and providing the only source of light in the large space. At some point Hotaru had muted it, the machine running silently as the room was eerily still.

The silence that had settled over the room was thick, like dense morning fog that had somehow settled down like a weighted blanket over the space. It was smothering, choking, chock full of tension and some other emotions that neither woman could place. In fact, there were so many emotions right now, it was nigh impossible to place what exactly they felt in that moment, a turbulent swirl of everything happening all at once in their chests.

Rei was gone.

Realization smacked Reina in the face like a startling backhand, and sob wrenched itself from her chest. Hotaru pulled her into her chest, the two of them collapsing back onto the couch as the tears began to fall. The reaction was delayed, but no longer. But even as she cried, Reina's mind began to turn, the gears grinding away as usual.

At the forefront of her mind was Rei's wellbeing. Where was she now? Was she safe, or at least alive? What was going on with her? Would she survive the night, let alone hold out until the police found her? What did the villains want with her? There were too many questions that unsettled her stomach, amplifying her unease in the quiet darkness. Somewhere out there, Rei was potentially all alone, under threat. Reina knew that Rei would eventually have to face danger, as a hero in training, but that didn't mean that she didn't worry. That aside, this was too sudden, too real and too early in her career. What had she done to deserve such a thing? Was fate so cruel?

On the side, Reina's mind churned over Aizawa's statement. It was true that Reina did not have formal custody over Rei. No one knew what happened to her natal parents, and neither had signed custody away from themselves before they had vanished. A formal adoption had been something Reina had begun to consider after taking Rei directly under her wing when the orphanage went out of business, since it would make things much easier. Ease aside, it made sense. Reina was the closest thing to family that Rei had in this world. Formalities weren't always necessary, but they were handy in tough situations.

Now, more than ever, Reina wished that she had formal custody over Rei. After all, it was she that was worrying the most about the girl's wellbeing, alongside Hotaru. The two of them loved Rei like their own little sister or daughter, doing everything in their power to ensure that she was taken care of.

An idea began to form in her head. As the tears began to subside, Hotaru looked to her partner, watching as Reina's eyes began to clear and shine.

"You're thinking about something."

Nodding slowly, Reina sighed.

"We can't do anything to get her back. But maybe it's time to do what we can."

* * *

"_I had promised the director of that orphanage a special deal if he managed to secure your quirk for me. Such a shame that he failed, wasn't it?" _

"_Your father had an interesting quirk as well. Apples don't fall far from the tree. But You could be greater than even he."_

"_That orphanage isn't the only one. But as much as it might seem like it, I'm not a god. I can't see everything that will happen." _

"_Shigaraki did well this time. I anticipate to see what Bakugou's decision will be." _

"_I knew your mother as well. It was a shame that she lost her spirit years ago. What could have broken her in that way?"_

"_Such a troubled childhood you had. Haven't you ever considered what it might be like to sit at the top instead of the bottom? I could give you that, if you agreed to work for me." _

He talked for what seemed like days. His voice was mesmerizing, the way that he articulated so crisply, so neatly, his plans for the world. He spoke of those he had lost along the way, those men that Rei inherently knew were criminals, but as he told her about their lives she could almost find a shred of sympathy in her heart for them.

It was the most sinister of magics, the most crafty and devilish wordsmith that Rei had ever encountered.

She was certain that, at one point, he had been a politician of some sort. There was no way that he could speak so emphatically, so articulately, so passionately and deceptively without such a career. Or perhaps he had been trained by such men and women, or had come into contact with them and picked up their mannerisms in such an effortless way that he seemed to make everything seem.

It mattered little. With every slippery word, every carefully crafted phrasing, she found herself sinking into a hole. Hope, drifting away. No matter how sharp she kept her mind, there was only so much she could do with her hands metaphorically tied behind her back. Perhaps this was worse that actually being held captive; with her hands free and her legs ready to move, there was an illusion of freedom that less insightful people would try to take advantage of.

This All For One knew all. He had complimented her on her brightness, her brains. He knew exactly what he was doing in setting up the room like this. It was a test to see just how bright-or desperate-she truly was in a dire situation.

If she was anyone else, she might have tried to flee. But after sizing up her opponent, there was no way she could logically escape. She had no idea where she was, no idea the limitations of her enemy's quirk, and no sign of assistance anywhere. Escape was a statistical improbability-no, more than that-it was an impossibility.

If this All For One was as dangerous as she was sizing him up to be, then he could smash her under his thumb without a second thought.

She felt like a butterfly trapped in a glass compartment, pinned down to display her wings and innards for the amusement of whoever came to watch. Helpless. It was horrifying, and yet there was nothing she could do. The only thing she could do was wait, watch, and pray for a savior.

But that hope was dying with every passing minute.

Minutes turned into hours. The villain continued to talk, occasionally drawing her in. He spoke of his dreams, his aspirations, the people that worked alongside him. He spoke of hero society and how oversaturated it now was, though he sung praises as well. With every sentence he spoke, Rei became more and more confused. The image of the villain in front of her was beginning to blur. Who was he?

She listened. What else could she do? She had to, if she wanted to stay alive. And somewhere, along the way, she began to feel something she had never felt before.

Pity.

Common ground.

The moment she realized this, she realized exactly what was going on.

He was trying to sway her over to his side.

Upon realizing this fact, she briefly admired the subtlety of his actions, the wordsmith he was. But that was immediately shut down by the cold sensation of horror running through her veins. She was almost certain that the blood had drained from her face, but fortunately his back was temporarily turned toward her as he continued to monologue.

She had to harden her heart. Closing off her mind for a moment, she shut everything down, every emotion. It was easier said than done. For years she had lived as a cold doll, lifeless and moving through the motions of life with monotony. But since Reina, since Yaoyorozu, since Midoriya, since Uraraka-

_Since Bakugou._

Rei froze. That was right; she was trapped here because Bakugou's life was in danger. If she did anything foolish, made one wrong move, then her classmate's life was at stake.

Swallowing hard, she calmed her thoughts, closing her eyes for a moment. She had to keep calm. She had to hold on to hope, no matter how much it slid through her fingertips like fine grains of sand. She had to believe that she would find a way out of this, that she would see everyone again.

"Are you listening, my little cat?"

She wanted to vomit at the endearment, but instead she opened gold eyes calmly.

"I hear you."

Yes, she would hear. But no longer would she listen.

She couldn't, if she wanted to face her friends and family at the end of this all.

She couldn't, if she wanted to keep her sanity.

* * *

Hospitals were all the same. The neutral paint jobs, the shining linoleum tiles, the sharp scent of antiseptic and alcohol, the sound of hearts lying in wait for healing or for hell. At this point Todoroki had spent so much time in them he had imagined that he would grow accustomed to the environment.

And yet, as he walked into the hospital that most of the injured had been taken to after the camping trip incident, he found that he was profoundly disturbed and uncomfortable.

He was restless, unable to sit still. Thankfully he had been relatively uninjured, only suffering a few scrapes from his tumble after trying to reach for Bakugou's marble. The memory made him clench his fist in anger, tension threading his body before he inhaled deeply, exhaling the tension and calming down. There was no point in growing angry at the past. The only thing that mattered was how they moved forward.

No matter how many times he told himself that, he still couldn't help but grow emotional. Losing Bakugou had been devastating, and it was a personal blow to Todoroki as he had been unable to snatch him back when it came down to the wire. Losing anyone in Class 1-A would have been terrifying and haunting in that situation. But as he walked through the hospital, his memories turned to the black haired girl that had been taken along with her grumbling and angry companion.

Losing Akatsuki Rei had been personal for him.

It seemed so unlikely that she would be one of the two students missing. She was brilliant and cunning, spirited and aggressive when it came down to it. She could talk the talk and walk the walk, even though she preferred to act on something rather than speak most of the time, never one to waste time with words. Though she was quiet and often sat on the periphery of the class discussions she was nevertheless an integral part of 1-A, quite frankly one of the backbones of the class. It hadn't happened overnight; rather, she had grown on all of them at some point, an interaction or a comment solidifying each person's camaraderie with her.

For Todoroki, it had happened in a hospital, much the same as this one.

He would never forget how surprised he had been to see her on their free day after the sports festival, how guilty he had felt as soon as he saw her and the way that she tenderly pressed a hand to her stomach subconsciously even as she greeted him with warmth. She had been dressed in casual clothes, though that had been a surprise too; he hadn't ever had the chance to imagine her in clothes other than their school uniform, but she had been rather fashionably put together, muted tones complimenting her style and making her seem even more relaxed while he felt out of place. It was the first time he had seen her so at ease, had actually seen a relaxed and earnest smile on her face.

No matter how much she managed to hide behind a mask, it was the first time he was able to peel back a layer and realize that Akatsuki Rei was a truly warm and empathetic person underneath everything. It wasn't until she had handed him a small handful of sunflowers to take to his mother that he had realized how lucky he was to see such a piece of her so early.

From that moment on he paid more attention to her, the ways in which she interacted with everyone. Slowly but surely, like the unfurling of a flower's blossoms in late spring, she began to show more of her colors. Her humor was dry and often sardonic, but there was always a glitter in her eyes that gave away her amusement. When she had made a joke about arson when the two of them had been going through the internship offers he had been caught off guard, but he had to admit that it was a pretty good one. She was surprising at every twist and turn, and it seemed like every day brought a new side of her to reveal.

In that sense, they were kindred spirits. Perhaps that was why, along with Yaoyorozu, the trio had formed a triangle of conversation in the back of the classroom, easily getting along with one another and talking about all sorts of things. Todoroki had been rather sheltered growing up, and was unaccustomed to talking with large groups of kids his age. He had been forced to grow up quickly, to mature as he was literally thrown into his father's footsteps even as he hadn't wanted to. He was certain Rei hadn't the slightest of what that was like. But for some reason there was something about her that reassured him that he wasn't alone, and that he didn't need to put up a front with her. Even if she couldn't empathize, she did a damn good job of sympathizing without patronizing, and Todoroki found himself growing more and more comfortable with her.

It was in the way that she asked about his mother in a quiet, hushed voice, so as to not air his business to the rest of the class that he came to respect her. She had an astounding awareness and sensitivity to others' comfort levels, and rarely ever did something to upset another person. Well, at least unintentionally. She did plenty to pique the irritation of others when she was feeling vindictive, but that was another story. Even more telling was the day that she had come into class, using a more familial suffix attached to his name. He had been surprised at the sudden closeness, but in the best of ways.

As times passed, he had grown rather fond of Akatsuki, and valued her voice over many others.

He would always respect and listen to Midoriya's voice. But Akatsuki held a wariness, a different sort of awareness and street knowledge that set her apart from the green haired boy. Where Midoriya was excellent in planning in predicting, Akatsuki took it to a whole new level. She wasn't perfect, but there was a difference in the way that she read others compared to Midoriya. With Midoriya he went off of his own observations, things that he had seen and taken notes of. With Akatsuki it was like she could get into someone's head and understand them in an instant, making predictions of what she found. And that was terrifying and talented in its own right.

And even though she was rough around the edges, she had become a quiet leader. Iida led with his powerful words and enthusiasm. The class followed Midoriya for his positive attitude and strategism. Arguably the class also rallied behind Bakugou and himself as they tended to physically power through every barrier that came their way, destroying the opposition with sheer force. But Rei didn't need to be noticed, didn't clamber for attention. In fact she preferred to remain hidden away, unnoticed by the majority so that she was free to move around. But she hadn't noticed that the eyes of her classmates had been slowly drawn to her for her quiet resolve, her quick thinking, brilliance, and resilience.

Most of all, she never backed down from a challenge. She didn't even flinch when Iida came her way on the first day, didn't back down and instead held her ground. She didn't even doubt herself when matched up against Midoriya, trusting herself to read his thoughts and make a plan in the face of the brilliant mind of the soft, green haired boy. She held eye contact with Bakugou even when he threatened to tear her apart, not even flinching with a cold confidence as his threats rolled off her like oil and water.

She was the foundation, the cement flooring underneath the building, quiet resilience supporting everyone from the ground up. And in time they had all come to realize that, without her, life would be quite different.

The saying that "no one knew what they had until it was gone" wasn't necessarily true. But if one never fully realized and was thankful for what they had and lived completely in the present, then they were at a loss. That was how Class 1-A now found themselves, grasping for the straws and looking for the two pieces that had become an integral part of their routine.

The lack of Akatsuki and Bakugou's presence was only made more noticeable by the fact that both of them were simultaneously missing. It seemed like nowadays they were a complete package; no one could have an explosive and raging Bakugou without Rei to counteract his rage and either calm him down or insult him further, to varying effects. She always had something witty to say in any situation, and the silence only further amplified the dearth of their presence.

It had been within their power, within their reach to save them. And in the end, they had lost.

During the crisis in the forest, it was Akatsuki who had kept them together. She had silenced Midoriya and slapped Bakugou silly, demanding their attention and forcing them to focus up, remaining the rock. It was clear that she was going to make an excellent hero; this was the second time she had proved her mettle and training, next to the cram class that six of them had taken at the beginning of summer. Where the rest of them had dove into the mystery she had been the one to immediately don the face of a hero, going about the business of calming the mock civilians and fulfilling every protocol they had forgotten in the rush of the moment. She had a clear head even in moments of crisis.

No wonder the entertainer had taken her first. From what it sounded like she apparently had caught sight of him, but he had taken her before she could make a sound. If the villain had hesitated for just a moment longer, then perhaps things would have turned out differently…

Shaking his head to himself, Todoroki trudged along the hallways of the hospital. No, he was here to see Midoriya, who was thankfully still living after the entire ordeal.

A part of him wondered what Akatsuki's reaction would have been if she found out that Midoriya had chased after her, wounds and all, in an attempt to get her and Bakugou back.

No, that was a stupid question. She would have slapped him across the face and then incapacitated him before dragging him off to emergency services. Perhaps that was enough of a thought in itself; he could imagine how things would be once she returned. At least that was much more pleasant to think of rather than what had become.

"Oh, Todoroki?! What are you doing here?"

Pausing in his steps, Todoroki turned around at the rather familiar voice. To his slight surprise, Kirishima was standing behind him, a visitor's badge also attached to the collared shirt that he wore, body bag moved carefully as to not tear it away or cinch it. Blinking blankly, he looked at the red haired boy. "What about you?"

A question for a question. But Kirishima didn't call him out on it, instead looking rather sheepish as he stammered out an answer of his own. "Well, I guess… that's to say, I couldn't just stay at home, so…"

Recognition. Realization. Empathy. Turning to face his classmate more directly, he turned around, waiting and beckoning Kirishima to catch up with him. "I see. Me neither."

Kirishima heaved a sigh of relief, closing the distance between the two as they began to continue their trek. "Man, what a nightmare. I can't believe it…"

"Mm."

"I guess we're supposed to count our blessings though. You were pretty unscathed, right, Todoroki?"

Nodding, he glanced over at Kirishima. "Only Midoriya was really injured, and that was before he even got to us."

"I wonder if he's awake yet… I hope he is."

Just ahead, Todoroki could hear the sounds of a few familiar voices, making him slow in his footsteps. Kirishima noted his companion's slow pace, pausing to turn and look at him in confusion. "Todoroki…?"

"Up there. Isn't that All Might's voice?"

The two of them walked up to the next door ahead, noting that it was still ajar and most likely the source of the voices. From around the corner the two peered in casually, eyes alighting at the sight of not just All Might, but Yaoyorozu as well. This was the first time they had heard news of her awakening, since she had apparently suffered a hard blow to the head and needed quiet to rest her mind. Another man stood with them as well, a detective from the police department, from the looks of it.

They were catching the middle of the conversation, but from what it seemed like they were just in time to make sense of it all. Yaoyorozu was speaking with the two men in front of her, eyes fairly clear, though she looked rather tired still. Her voice was less enthusiastic than usual, probably due to her injury as well as her exhaustion from the entire situation. "Thanks to Awase-san from Class B, I attached a tracking device to one of the villains." She lifted a device in her hands, handing it over to All Might, who accepted it in his large palm. "This device will receive that signal. Please use it for your investigation."

Todoroki's eyes alit at the sight of the tracker, impressed by Yaoyorozu's quick thinking. Clearly, so was All Might, as he spoke as quietly as he could for an energetic and booming man such as himself. "Before, Aizawa said that you lacked the judgement to make quick decisions. You have grown so much! Thank you, Young Yaoyorozu!"

Even with the praise from their teacher, Yaoyorozu lowered her head. "With two classmates in danger, it is frustrating to only be able to help in this way."

"That feeling is proof that you are worthy of being a hero. Please leave the rest to us!"

As All Might and the police officer turned around to exit the room, Todoroki moved into sight, making it look as though the two of them had just passed by. Their teacher's face lit up, beaming at the two of them. "Oh, Young Todoroki! Young Kirishima!"

Kirishima looked somewhat sheepish at their appearance, but Todoroki kept his face neutral as he stood in front of the red haired boy, looking in to the room. "Is it alright to visit Yaoyorozu-san?"

"Well," their teacher trailed off, looking back into the room, but a small nod from Yaoyorozu had him smiling once more, leaning over to them and whispering, as though passing along a secret. "Just for a moment. Young Yaoyorozu still requires much rest, but I believe she would benefit much from a short visit."

With a salute and a skip the man was off, both Todoroki and Kirishima bowing cordially to the police officer as well as the two of them passed by and walked down the hallway. Making their own way into the room, Todoroki looked over Yaoyorozu, who continued to sit on the edge of the bed. She looked at them in concern, the stress and strain still apparent on her face. "Todoroki-san, Kirishima-san."

"Ah, vice president! We're glad you're awake."

They came to stand in the place where All Might and the police officer had been not a moment before, Todoroki looking down in sympathy. "How are you feeling?"

"My head is still a bit sensitive, but I should be fine in a few days." Still, her face looked rather troubled as she looked between the two boys. "So it's true. Bakugou-san and Tsuki-chan were taken."

Kirishima's face fell, but Todoroki managed to keep his face calm. "Yeah."

"Oi, Todoroki…"

But he wasn't one to hide things from anyone. Yaoyorozu looked to her hands, folded in her lap. "I can't believe it… To be able to do so little…"

The group fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. Todoroki's face hardened. Of all people, Yaoyorozu had the right to be the most upset. She was the closest to Akatsuki out of all of them, the two rather inseparable, ever since the first few weeks of school. Seeing her look so dejected, so sad…

Todoroki's hands clenched for a moment before relaxing.

"Yaoyorozu, please rest. We'll be back on another visit."

"Todoroki…?"

But Yaoyorozu nodded, seeming slightly relieved that she could rest again. It was as good a time as any to take their leave, so parting and giving their regards Todoroki led the way out of the room, Kirishima following him out in confusion.

"Todoroki, wait!"

The two of them continued down the hall, returning to their path to get to Midoriya's room. Todoroki's face was deceptively serene, staring forward with an impassive glance. "Just an idea."

"You thought about it too?"

Surprised, he looked to Kirishima, taking in the look of determination. It was in that moment that he knew that Kirishima had thought of the same thing; ever since they saw that receiver being passed off to the pro heroes and the police, the nagging in their chest wouldn't go away.

It was risky. Hell, it was probably slightly illegal. No, make that definitely illegal.

But the two of them were moving because they couldn't keep still. They would keep moving until they found a solution and this entire chapter was brought to a close.

They kept their voices low as the continued to talk, hashing out the details of their plans as they tried to keep them a secret. There were some who wouldn't like it, who would try to stop them.

But they could move. As long as they could move, they would move forward.

Anything, to get the people back that had been stolen from them.

* * *

There were many things to be thankful for, but it had never quite been in Bakugou's nature to ever feel truly thankful for anything.

That was a bit harsh. Of course he was thankful for things. His parents, his quirk, for instance. Getting into U.A., though arguably that was because of his drive and his ability. He wasn't as thankless or completely self absorbed as many tended to think he was. It was simply that he didn't always show it, and he tended to be thankful for the things he couldn't grasp with his own hands, but somehow had.

He could have been thankful that he was alive in that moment, having survived a kidnapping and in a situation where the enemy clearly wanted something from him. He could have been thankful that it hadn't been anyone else; surely if it had been someone else, they would have cracked at this point, or completely blown their own head off. Mineta, for example, would had pissed himself at this point. No, actually, purple ball boy had probably pissed himself the moment he caught a whiff of danger back at the camp. Bakugou liked to think that Mr. Half Hot, Half Cold probably would have done something ridiculous at this point as well, although it sounded more like he had been on a kill list. Perhaps he could be thankful that; as far as he knew, that bastard was still alive.

Everyone was still alive, as far as he knew or dared hope. He could have been thankful that the villains withdrew as soon as they captured him.

But Bakugou was not thankful.

Here he was, playing dumb and mute until the right moment. He was stuck under the villain's thumb, at least until they slipped up. They had to slip up eventually. For some reason, they still seemed to be under the impression that he would eventually give in and fall off to the villain's side, to run amok in the darkness.

How wrong they were.

_Did you see that? All Might's so cool… no matter what, he comes out on top!_

Underneath the cement block that they had locked his hands inside, his hands clenched into fists. A hero could break out of any situation, no matter the odds.

For now, all he could do was wait for the most opportune moment. He wasn't an idiot, like many others thought. Sure, he was hot headed often, but there was always a plan in place. At least with all this time, he could stew and think of a plan, pretending to pay attention to the ramblings of this Shigaraki while he spouted idealistic nonsense.

But with stewing came wandering thoughts, and his thoughts would inevitably turn to one person.

The moment that they had reappeared inside the bar, they had played their hand. Either Bakugou played nice, or they would crush Rei instantaneously. That was the reason why he had submitted so quickly and quietly, allowing his hands and feet to be restrained as he was hunkered down to the chair, half in resignation, half in fear. The moment that the magician had transformed Rei back into her true form, he had been proud that her first reaction was to stand and fight, immediately noticing that something was off.

In the end, having both of them there was a double edged sword. Now that he had been incapactitated, it was easy enough to get Rei to submit to their will, even if they left her unbound. Just how much research had they done? Were they simply running on the fact that the two of them were classmates, or did they know something more? That thought alone was blood chilling, enough to put a scowl on Bakugou's face.

In any case, they had lost. For now. Bakugou refused to face the fact that they had lost, instead preferring to think of it as an extended fight. It wasn't over. Not yet. He would escape. That would be his victory.

But before he could even begin brainstorming a way to get both of them out of there, Rei had been taken away to god knew where. Whoever was the mastermind behind the entire scheme, whoever Shigaraki's leader was, had taken her away from him. They had exchanged some strange words, something that Bakugou hadn't quite understood about her quirk and its "true nature," but it was clear enough that it was something valuable and something that Rei guarded jealously. He wanted to be angry that she hadn't shared something like that with him yet, but that quickly vanished once he saw the fear on her face from the realization that this other person knew something they shouldn't have. Even worse was the fear when his own life had been threatened.

He wanted to tell her that she was an idiot, sacrificing safety for his. He wanted to tell her that he was thinking of a plan, that she just needed to shut up and sit down. But he was no telepath. All he could do was watch in horror as she was swallowed up by an inky substance, his heart breaking as she sent him a forced smile that did nothing to hide the terror in her own heart. He could see right through it. Rei couldn't fool him.

And like that, she was gone.

Gone, sliding through his fingertips into the devil's nest, to who knew where. It made his escape plan easier, now that he only had to account for one person, but that didn't make him feel any better. His mind was consumed by "what ifs" of what was going on on Rei's end, what sort of horrors she was experiencing all alone. If given the choice, he would have gladly fought these villains in front of him with his hands literally tied behind his back, if it meant that Rei were by his side.

In the past, he probably would have relished in the fact that he only had himself as his responsibility.

Now, all he felt was a hole in his chest, like Midoriya had used that damn quirk of his to knock the wind out of him.

Of all the times for shit to go down like this, why now? Rei had finally confessed her feelings, and Bakugou had felt like he was soaring on cloud nine ever since that train ride home. Nothing else had happened, but the knowledge that she liked him back was enough. Now, that only made him feel worse. He couldn't let this be the end, not like this.

_Katsuki_.

Swallowing hard, he allowed his mind to linger on the memory of the first time she had said his first name. He could envision and recreate the scene in his head, the way she looked somewhat uncertain but the way her eyes lit up unbeknownst to even her. She could be the master of hiding emotions behind a mask, but in that moment she had been an open book. Delight and relief had surged forward, and it made Bakugou wonder just what had been going on in her head leading up until that point.

He wanted to tell her just how much she meant to him. How he liked the way her eyes would sparkle every time she tried to crawl under his skin, or when she would come up with a crafty plan to undermine her opponents in fights. How adorable it was whenever she blinked languidly like a cat trying to communicate nonverbally just what they were thinking, or fast when she was trying to take in a million things at once and her eyes would widen marginally. How beautiful her golden irises were when the afternoon light struck them, like honey spread over glass and refracting amber tints. How much he wanted to tuck her under his chin and never let her go when she looked at him softly, seeing through every layer and barrier he had put up.

The waiting game had never been his to play. He wanted to jump into the action, to get things over with. But in this game of life or death, he was forced to play this hand, no matter how much he wanted to break out of this musty place and tear whatever town apart that he needed to in order to find Rei. She was tough, undoubtedly, and she was one of the classmates that he probably would never need to worry about in a situation such as this. On one hand, at least it had been her; she was tougher than a bed of nails, and he knew that she wouldn't go anywhere without kicking and screaming.

On the other hand, it was exactly because it was her that he was so worried, so desperate to get out of this place and ensure that she was safe. He needed to know that she was alright, to see a smile that hadn't been that shitty attempt to pretend that she was alright.

He had to think of a plan.

Or so god help him, he would personally escort Shigaraki and his entire entourage into the bottommost layer of hell itself.

* * *

AN: UWU ?

I'm alive.

Seriously.

I had to leave home because of the California fires, but it's also given me a bit of time to stitch some things together. I haven't once given up on this story in my hiatus; a lot of writing things didn't work out, but I've been workshopping and writing in my time off as well. Thank you everyone for all your support! I really appreciate it and can't wait to bring you more content.

**(super)stition will no longer be updated on a weekly basis.** I've recently gone through some life changes, and (surprise, surprise) I'm being promoted at work, so I won't have as much free time on my hands. I don't have a solid schedule yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I do. Realistically, this might be a once a month thing, but I'm not making any promises yet. All I can say is that I haven't given up on this story yet! I love Rei, as many of you do as well.

I've made some changes to the story to have All For One be a bit more talkative. I figure that getting his hands dirty isn't really his style, so I changed that aspect of the story. Unfortunately that changed a LOT of other things that I now need to figure out where everything else goes. It's messy (seriously, you should see my Google Drive... it's ugly right now), but I'm sure it's for the better.

**Thanks for your reviews!**

**Vedahzii**: I'm back! I have no intentions of abandoning this story yet. It's kind of wild because we're coming up on one year since the creation of this story (at least from where I started writing it without publishing it on this website). Thank you for your support!

**dragontamer64**: Thank you for all your support! I hope you're happy to see another update from me! This chapter is kind of half new content, half stuff I stitched together from previous chapters that I wanted to keep, and if I'm honest I haven't really proof read it yet, so it might be messy, but it's an update! Can't wait to hear from you again

**skiescloud**: WATASHI GA KITA hahahaha but seriously, I'm here. This story isn't going anywhere yet! I am so glad that you've fallen in love with Rei; I've tried to write a lot of other stories in my time off but nothing really compares to the story I've set up here. Thank you thank you!

**chibi-no-baka**: Yeah, I like to think that Bakugou is secretly a softy haha. But I'm back! Here's to hopefully more soft Bakugou in the future!

**j**: Please no more cryin in the club, unless that's your thing, then go for it. But I'm back with some updates!

**Frost**: ALL THE FEEEEEELSSSSSS hahaha but yes I dislike Mineta just... slightly... .

**Axel Fones**: I'm glad you decided to read this story! At least a little bit. And yes, many things are intentionally staged/ written like that. I like to imagine that, on occasion, my writing can be subtle but obvious if you read carefully.

**Sarki**: Thank you for leaving your review! I'm so happy to be back now!

**aarime**: Yes, this story is not going anywhere. Thank you for your review!

**Guest 1**: No, I will most likely not be adding smut. I don't really feel comfortable writing it, and also they're like... 15? If I do, I'll definitely change the age. It's not out of the question, but it's not my focus right now. Thanks for the review and suggestion!

**Guest 2**: Thank you! It's been nearly a year in the making at this point. I hope you enjoy future chapters!

* * *

I'm not sure when the next update will be, but hopefully soon!

Please look forward the revamped version of this story and the Training Camp Arc.

Please leave a review!

Have a great week!


	30. Movement in the Dark

Chapter 30

Movement in the Dark

* * *

"_You want me to make a receiver?"_

"_Yeah. You already know why we want it." _

"_... Please, give me some time to think about it." _

Night had fallen upon Japan. The city continued to move about its business, critiques and the breaking news not even enough to bring about the slightest bit of change to everyone's schedules and routines. It would take more than just the news of a villain attack on yet another U.A. class to break the monotony. The lights turned on, and the people continued to move underneath on the sidewalks and streets, milling about their business as per usual.

No one gave a second thought to the two high school boys that stood in front of the hospital, seemingly waiting for something. Or rather, someone, or multiple someones.

Kirishima's brows furrowed as the minutes passed, a bit of doubt coming into his mind with every moment that fled by them without change. He couldn't help but be on edge, especially after the argument that their class had in regards to their admittedly reckless and borderline illegal plan. "I wonder what Yaoyorozu decided."

At his side, Todoroki tried to remain nonchalant about the entire situation. Still, even he had to admit that he was just as on edge as his classmate, hands clenched into fists hidden away in his pants pockets as he stowed them away. Their plan was certainly foolish, but there was no denying the frustration in his heart that was leading him to act in any way that he could. "Well, no matter how restless we are, it's up to her-"

The front doors to the hospital slid open with a hiss, making the two jolt from both the sound and the two figures that appeared. Kirishima's eyes lit up, though he remained wary. "She's here!"

But not just Yaoyorozu. Todoroki's eyes slid to the left to see a slightly smaller boy following after her, slightly hidden by her figure in the shadows. "Midoriya…"

The look on the green haired boy's face describe a bit of discomfort, but none of it seeming to be aimed at whatever they were about to do. Instead he looked rather determined, his answer solidified. A bit of Todoroki relaxed as he saw Midoriya's face and read his implied decision. He should have known better than to doubt that Midoriya wouldn't have shown up tonight. Not after everything that had happened.

This wasn't just about Bakugou. Even though their male classmate had been clearly within their grasp, all the way until the last moment when things had gone wrong, Rei's abduction hurt just as much.

If she was here, what would she have done?

To be honest, she most likely would have tried to call everything off, probably would have tried the hardest to stop them. She was one of the most logical of the entire class, similar to Tsuyu, but she wasn't afraid to use her fists to take even her comrades down a notch. Todoroki tried not to think too much about that. He would rather do something and act and take her fist to his stomach for his insolence than stand aside and do nothing.

Somehow, he knew that she would still understand.

The two newcomers stopped in front of their other two classmates, Kirishima shifting forward and pulling his hands from his pocket. Of the four of them, he was the most openly anxious, ready to get an answer and get a move on. "Yaoyorozu, what's your answer?"

She was clearly hesitant, eyes muddied with confliction as she turned her gaze to the ground, clasping a hand to her chest. Surely there would be an explanation to accompany her answer, as their vice president was more than logical while also wanting to help her classmates. If she disappointed them in some way, she would want to explain things as thoroughly as possible to mitigate the damage. It was how she was as a person. But even as Yaoyorozu opened her mouth to speak, she never got the chance.

"Wait!"

The baritone voice was loud and clear, disrupting the quiet night as the four of them turned to look back at the entrance, their eyes settling on an all too familiar and dissenting figure. Iida's glasses shimmered in the lights, his face difficult to read in the low lighting as he stormed over toward the group, hands bunched into fists. Midoriya in particular lowered his head, though he refused to remove his gaze from his friend's face, green eyes dancing nervously not from indecision but from the knowledge of what was about to come.

"Iida-kun…"

"Why… Why did it have to be you guys, of all people?" Iida's voice was surprisingly low, as though trying to avoid attracting attention from other passerbyers out in the street. It was a strange sentiment, seeing as how Iida normally was loud and unabashed by his bright nature that naturally attracted attention. To see him so changed, so out of his element, it was a telling sign of how unnerved or how much strife he felt in his heart. "You were the ones who stopped me when I acted recklessly for personal reasons, who both received amnesty with me…"

But his voice began to tense, growing louder as he became more passionate, unable to hold back any longer. "Why are you trying to make the same mistake that I did?"

"Iida, what are you talking-" Kirishima tried to walk forward, but Todoroki only raised a hand to block him, leveling the red headed boy with a glance that told him to not ask questions, Iida's words relating to something beyond him.

"We are still minors. U.A. is in enough of a bad position as is. Who will take responsibility for your actions? Do you understand?!"

"Iida-kun, it's not like that! We don't think it's okay to break the rules either-"

It was enough. Midoriya hadn't seen the warning signs, hadn't read the situation properly. The other three members of their group watched from the side in horror as Iida slugged Midoriya across the face, the latter not even seeing the motion coming and unable to defend himself. His head snapped to the side as he staggered, the punch much more forceful than was perhaps called for, but Iida was not to be dissuaded.

"I'm worried too! And frustrated! It's only natural!" His voice began to break as he yelled at Midoriya, fists still clenched, unable to release.

"I am the class rep! I'm worried about my classmates! Not just Bakugou or Akatsuki. When I saw you in that hospital bed, I saw my brother's injuries as well! What if your body ends up irreparable, like my brother, because of your recklessness?"

Silence. Processing. Midoriya's eyes widened as he continued to hunch over, recovering from the blow as his cheek smarted while processing Iida's words. The thought hadn't crossed his mind; Bakugou and Akatsuki were gone, but that didn't mean that the rest of the class was only concerned with them. Jirou and Hagakure had suffered from the gas. Yaoyorozu had sustained a fairly severe head injury. And he, with his broken hands that were hanging on the verge of disrepair…

"Are you saying that you don't care about my worries?"

Iida's voice broke. He muttered half to himself, repeating his words as he grabbed Midoriya by the shoulders, shaking his friend gently as he continued to paraphrase his concerns. Unable to meet Iida's gaze, even as the taller boy hunched over with his face close to Midoriya, the latter found he was unable to raise his head.

He had been so consumed in his concern for Bakugou and Akatsuki that he had forgotten about himself. Wasn't that what heroes did? No, that was foolish. Heroes had to know their limits still. But Midoriya couldn't help but think about rescuing those that were in dire need. His mind couldn't think rationally, even as the adrenaline was gone. If his hand could reach…

"Iida. We don't expect to face them head on and win either." To everyone's surprise it was Todoroki who spoke up first. A set of blue and brown eyes settled on Iida's own, determination and cunning in the former's expression even as he tried to hide it behind a neutral face. "We'll extricate them without fighting."

"In other words, covert action." Clearly Kirishima and Todoroki had talked this plan through multiple times, already having a decent idea of what they wanted to do while considering what they could legally do given their student status. "That way, we can toe the line."

"I trust Todoroki-san." Everyone's eyes turned to Yaoyorozu in surprise next. It was the first time she had truly and clearly spoken during this entire meeting, her eyes both near and far as she clasped a hand to her chest. She stared at the ground, eyes lowered at a forty-five degree angle as she refused to look at everyone else for a moment longer, as though gathering her wits about her and trying to solidify her own plan first. "I plan to accompany them so that I can stop them, if something goes wrong."

"Yaoyorozu!"

Two voices called her name, one astonished that she would toe the line with them while the other sounded in relief that they had pulled another classmate to their side. It was when Midoriya shifted to stand up straighter that everyone looked back to him, awaiting his response.

"I don't know myself, either. But hearing that I could reach a little further, that I could do something instead of sitting around." Finally he lifted his head, green eyes sparkling. There was nothing except determination, the kind that usually alit Midoriya's expression when he had made up his mind, where nothing could change it except for perhaps knocking him unconscious or a stern threat from their teachers. But there was none of that here. "I can't stop thinking that I want to save them. Both of them."

"We can't come to an agreement then, huh?"

The four stiffened at Iida's words, watching his expression carefully as his furrowed eyebrows smoothed out, face going oddly placid and devoid of any tension that had been on it a moment prior. But when he opened his eyes there was determination, enough to match Midoriya's in passion and fire. "Then, take me with you too!"

"Huh? Iida…"

There wasn't time for Kirishima to say much else, as Todoroki stepped forward. "We can decide things as we go. We should start moving before we draw any more attention here."

It was logical enough. Both Midoriya and Todoroki took the point, with Iida and Kirishima in the middle and Yaoyorozu in the back. Slinging their bags over their shoulders and filtering out of the hospital for one final time, they were each left to their thoughts, at least for a moment.

Yaoyorozu was conflicted. That much was certain. She hadn't been able to dispel the feeling that something bad would come out of this excursion, ever since Todoroki and Kirishima had approached her about making another device to track the creature. In addition to the fact that they were still only students, that Aizawa-sensei's permission to fight had been retracted now that the camping incident was officially over, and that they were all healing in some form or manner, the now five of them were in no condition to be carrying such a mission out.

It was foolish. This was something that they should leave to the pro heroes. There was no need to meddle in these dangerous affairs, no reason to get further entangled. They were in over their heads, and if they thought otherwise then they weren't thinking at all. Clearly, that seemed to be the case here. No one was thinking with their heads screwed on properly, and those were the kinds of mistakes that could get people killed in the real world.

Then why couldn't she say no? Why didn't she just refuse to make the transponder from the beginning? Why had she determined that her best option was to follow the group and simply make sure that they followed the laws, when all of this could have been circumvented by simply denying them from the beginning?

A part of her knew that it was because she understood their itch to move. Yaoyorozu wasn't unfeeling. Even if she had been in the forest, she had felt Rei's loss in a real way. If it had been only Todoroki that had been asking for the receiver, she was almost certain that she would have said no. They were friends, and out of everyone in the class they probably knew each other the best, aside from the other girls that Yaoyorozu was close with, but it was exactly for that reason why Yaoyorozu knew that she would have been able to deny Todoroki his wishes. But when Kirishima had accompanied him, had essentially laid down the groundwork for what they had wanted to do and why, Yaoyorozu hadn't been able to deny him.

Not just because they weren't quite as close, but because Yaoyorozu had understood. The two of them hadn't been there in that moment, and as a result Akatsuki and Bakugou had both suddenly been there in one moment and gone the next. It was different from Todoroki, Midoriya, Tokoyami, and Shoji's experiences. It was the absolute feeling that they did nothing, that they had essentially stood to the side while their friends had been taken away from their grasp.

That was the reason why she found herself walking at the back, completely conflicted about the entire situation. She knew that the other four boys weren't thinking with their heads completely screwed on. Extracting Bakugou and Akatsuki without combat was near impossible, considering the caliber of villains that they were dealing with. But at the same time she couldn't leave them now. She would have to think for them, would have to be the voice of reason. Even Iida was passionate about this mission.

And yet, she knew that she couldn't be the voice of reason.

At the end of the evening, she was just as emotionally invested and placed in turmoil, because it was her best friend that was dangling in the villains' grasp.

* * *

Anxiety.

Fear.

Despiration.

Hope.

Time passed.

Eventually the hope began to fade, leaving nothing but a dark feeling of resignation sitting in her chest.

It was not resignation that led her to the villain's cause. No, this was a different sort of resignation. It was that of a hopelessness that came with the realization that rescue might not ever come. She was hidden away in a place she knew not where; how could she have hope that she would be rescued? She didn't even know the first location that she had been brought to, where Bakugou still was. Now that she was at a secondary location, there was no hope.

There was no return, and the longer that Rei thought about that fact, the more that reality began to settle in.

After what had seemed like hours, All For One had taken his leave. He warped from the room, or had moved with such quickness that she had no idea where the door was. She was trapped in darkness, sitting on the same chair that he had bade her sit upon when he had forced her into this small, dank, dark, room. Time was beginning to blur. She was exhausted, which was most likely part of the reason why she had no idea how he had left.

But even in her exhaustion, Rei was not a fool; she knew that somehow, some way, he was still watching her every more.

It mattered little.

As soon as he left, the room went silent. But the silence drove her mad. Silence, absence of voice, a dearth of any other living creature. She could not move from her chair, for fear of the repercussions.

So she did the only thing she could.

She screamed.

It was mingled and choked with a sob as the tears ran down her cheeks, spilling from her chin and onto her dirty exercise clothes that she still wore from the night of the test of courage. How long ago was that now? In this room, time meant nothing. It could have been hours, or days.

The tears continued to fall. Eventually her sobbing dimmed to a warble, lips quivering but soundless as she began to compose herself.

She was beginning to enter a state of deliriousness. And yet, she couldn't find it in herself to care.

No one was coming.

There was no way out.

What was going to become of her?

* * *

"And now, the U.A. High School press conference briefing will begin."

Aizawa, Vlad King, and Principal Nezu all rose from their chairs in a coordinated fashion, the first being at the center of the group and leading the charge. With his unwrinkled suit and hair pulled back out of his face he hardly looked like the permanently exhausted homeroom teacher of Class 1-A, though his eyes still held a weariness. This time, however, they looked more tense from the audience in front of them, as well as the knowledge that the press conference was being broadcast around the nation.

There were times when a hero had to do all kinds of work that they didn't necessarily enjoy. This, at least for Aizawa, was one of them. But it was a necessary diversion, one that they had to pull off for the other teams to get into place so that they could strike Shigaraki and his apparent Vanguard Action Squad that he had pulled together. Tonight, All Might and the other heroes, as well as the police, would be making their move.

Now, all the three on stage had to do was pull their attention away.

"We deeply apologize for the incident that has allowed harm to come to twenty-eight first years of the hero course because of our unpreparedness," he began, eyes harshly looking forward though earnest. "We apologize for causing unease in society, due to our negligence in properly defending ourselves as a place of learning."

The trio bowed in unison at the waist, cameras beginning to flash. "We are truly sorry." Short, sweet, and to the point. But now began the real test. For all intents and purposes, the press conference was real. It was intended to act as a diversion, knowing that Shigaraki would likely be tuning in, but aside from the three at the front under the spotlight, no one else in the room knew the truth. The reporters were unassuming, ignorant of the scheme that ran beneath their very feet, but their questions would be true enough.

The difficult part was about to begin.

A monitor called upon the first hand, starting with the major reporting centers as the trio sat down in their seats. "Yomiuri Television, reporting. Since the beginning of the year, U.A. high school students have had four encounters with villains. This time, there were even students injured. How did you explain to their families, and what sort of specific countermeasures are you taking?"

Principal Nezu took the first question, speaking with tension in his voice. At least one of them was clearly an actor, feigning stress to an oddly effective degree. It was believable, and had Aizawa not known about the truth he surely would have believed the act himself. Although, not all of his stress was feigned; the safety of their students was something the principal prided himself in, so perhaps not all of this was completely faked.

"'We will increase policing in the surrounding area and review security protocol with the school, ensuring the students' safety with a strong position.' That is what we told them. We have every intent of following through with this plan. Our students' safety is our top priority."

Another reporter took the mic, an older gentleman that Aizawa recognized. He was a long time reporter with a reputable newspaper, from what he could remember, and had established himself as the biggest antagonizer and critic of U.A. ever since the USJ incident. Trying not to glower at the man, Aizawa kept his face as neutral as possible.

"You spoke about the student's safety, Eraserhead. During the incident, it appears you urged them to fight. What was your intention behind this?"

This was clearly going to lead somewhere. But Aizawa dutifully leaned forward into the microphone, staring back at the man with intensity that bordered on a look that dared the reporter to cross him in a bad way underneath his mask. "I concluded that, because we were unable to fully grasp the situation, it had to be done in order to prevent the worst possible outcome."

"And what do you mean by, 'the worst possible outcome?' You don't call twenty-six casualties and two abductions 'the worst possible outcome?'"

A quick read of the room determined that most of the inhabitants were on the side of the reporter. Most faces wore looks of focus that vaguely disguised their irritation and muddied emotions of objection and upset at U.A.'s handling of the situation. Many leaned forward in their chairs, hunched over notepads while glaring up through lidded eyes and furrowed brows, clearly not on U.A.'s side of things. It was to be expected, but that made the battle all the more difficult.

Still, Aizawa proceeded both carefully and bluntly. There wasn't any point in trying to bullshit his way past the reporters at this point. That was the job of Principal Nezu, and the question hadn't been directed at the loveable, furry, principal.

"The 'worst outcome' I assumed in that situation was that the students would be at their wits' end and be killed."

Nezu stepped in anyway before anyone else could react, most of all the reporter who continued to stand in the crowd with a formidable frown on his face. "The gas attack accounts for most of the victims. We have determined that it was a sleeping gas from one of the enemies' quirks. Thanks to the quick response of Miss Kendo and Mister Tetsutetsu, there were no serious injuries from that attack. In addition, we are providing mental care for the students, but at the moment we do not see any signs of any serious psychological trauma."

"Are you saying that it was a bright spot in this tragedy?"

Yes. Yes, that was in fact what they were saying. But a blunt admission was sure to only egg the reporters on and gain an even less favorable response from their audience both in the studio and beyond.

Thankfully, Principal Nezu responded smoothly once more, rewording such a response in a much more articulate and placating manner. "We believe that the worst possible outcome is the one that would have infringed upon the future."

"Can you say the same thing for Bakugou and Akatsuki?"

Aizawa knew it was coming. He should have expected it. But in combination with the reporter's tone of voice, the mocking and disparaging tone that mixed with a subtle mockery of the very future that the principal was promising, the constant disappointment was beginning to wear and grate on Aizawa's nerves. He couldn't help the twitch of his eye and the subtle flinch as the reporter's eyes turned onto him in particular, knowing that his comments were about to make the stoic and grumpy U.A. teacher squirm in his seat.

"Bakugou enrolled at U.A. with excellent marks and won the sports festival. In addition, during the sludge villain incident in middle school, he resisted the powerful villain alone, so he has a history of showing how tough and heroic he can be. On the other hand," the reporter began feigning concern, though his look was overall too dark and attacking to be truly concerned with the aforementioned boy's attitude, "the violence he showed during the finals and at the closing ceremony show that he is not always mentally stable. What if the villains kidnapped him because they had an eye on that?"

The reporter narrowed his eyes at Aizawa, his full attention now directed at the teacher. The two of them had their eyes trained on one another, daring the other to break away. Not even Nezu could interfere at this point, the temperature of the room dropping at the accusations. "Furthermore, Akatsuki enrolled with fairly average marks, but also placed highly in the sports festival. She has proven to be cunning and intelligent, but her track record leading up to U.A. has been less than stellar. When one looks at her past, one has to question just what she is doing at a hero school, and if one can look beyond the history she surely brings with her as she moves into the future."

At this Aizawa couldn't hide his frown, lips twitching downward. The reporter was darting into dangerous territory, finding private information on a minor. But without explicitly stating anything, an attack on his sources could prove fruitless, and the U.A. panel would be accused of trying to steer the conversation off course. It was a clever, if not underhanded and slightly illegal, tactic that he was carefully playing, and they knew it. The best thing to do would be to move on and ignore the comments about Rei's past, but there was a sharp piece of defiance that struggled to rise to the top to defend his student.

Aizawa had received Rei's full report when they had been deciding whether or not to let her into the school. Every account of every fight that had been documented came with her academic record, her school's not so subtle way of trying to warn them that she came with a troubled and loaded history. It was a marvel to consider the fights that hadn't been recorded, what with the way that her dossier was loaded to the brim. Even though she had placed second in the entrance exam, just under Bakugou himself, it was barely enough to counter the fact that she looked to be a problem child, and Aizawa himself hadn't been entirely convinced of U.A.'s decision to offer her a spot at their prestigious school.

But she had wormed her way into his heart. She worked hard. Over time, Aizawa came to see that she truly was trying to get her record straight and clean up her act, her desire to become a hero not so foreign and strange as it had originally seemed. If he had to pin down a moment where he truly began to see her in a new light, it was the day that he had told her about the special scholarship for students with financial needs. He saw just how much she struggled, and yet how much she refused to lie down and give up. Combined with her raw talent and her promise for improvement, it was why he had accepted her in the class.

Even though she hid among the rest of her classmates, playing at being average and fitting into the middle so that she didn't stand out too much, she was one of the most promising. And Aizawa had taken it upon himself during the camp in particular to see that she made the most of her time and began to put her on the path to the future she envisioned and pursued with all her might.

"Kidnapping those two with deceitful words, and dyeing them with the path of evil? What evidence do you have for saying that they have a future?

To hear this reporter slandering both Bakugou and Akatsuki was enough to push his irritation over the breaking point. Standing up, Aizawa forced himself to his full height while swallowing his anger as best he could, in order to calmly deescalate the situation. He knew that the reporter was only trying to provoke a reaction, to try and catch them off guard.

He couldn't slip up. Not now. No matter how much he wanted to snap the reporter in half with his binding ties.

Bowing at the waist, he made sure his mouth was still close enough to his microphone. "As an educator, I take full responsibility for Bakugou Katsuki's violent behavior. However, his actions at the sports festival originate in what he considers his 'ideal strength.' He is trying harder than anyone in his pursuit of becoming the 'top hero.'"

Aizawa stood up straight, looking back at the man. "If the villains saw that and thought they had an opening, then I believe that they are short-sighted."

"Furthermore," he continued as the reporters in the audience began to mutter amongst themselves, sounding as though they were in awe or at least surprised by recent revelations, "in Akatsuki Rei's case, she has proven in multiple cases a solid application of basic hero operations, usually the first one to respond as taught in crisis situations. If one is troubled by her past, then they only need to look at her future. She has proven her desire to become a hero and protect those in need, and shows the most promise of her peers in becoming an outstanding member of society."

But the reporter still seemed displeased, though perhaps it was because the others in the audience seemed to be turning toward U.A.'s side, if only marginally. Rolling his shoulders back and puffing himself back up, he raised his voice. "That is not evidence, though. This isn't a question of how you feel; I'm asking whether or not you have a concrete plan in place."

"We are not just standing by idly." The Principal was showing signs of stress again, although his anxiety did seem to become more genuine for each second that passed in this place. One slip up could ruin the entire guise. "We are currently investigating alongside the police. We will definitely get our students back."

At Principal Nezu's words the reporter finally sat back down, reluctantly relinquishing the microphone as an aide walked up and gestured for him to return to his seat in order for others to ask more questions. The next reporter made their way to the center aisle in order to ask their question properly, the three at the front sipping their water in an attempt to parch their dry throats.

It was only the beginning, and they were already getting grilled. Hopefully the next few would be easier, now that most of the intense questions had already been asked. But it was a reminder of how much of a bad reputation U.A. had garnered, and how much they had to answer for in these times.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

It was fear that kept her rooted to her seat. Fear that kept her from moving. Fear of repercussions, of the unknowns in her situation.

Fear of All For One and his brilliance, his insightfulness that could surely see through every move she wanted to make.

Time passed more slowly now that she was alone. Hunger had long abandoned her. It was her thirst that was driving her insane at this point. In the dark she swore that she could see colors swirling in her vision, behind her eyelids and in the naked black abyss that stared back whenever she opened her eyes.

Now was the time to think. But she did not want to think.

She dared not think of home, for fear of breaking one more time. She couldn't bring herself to think of the people that she missed. No, she couldn't. She would lose it even further. So instead she tried to meditate, to calm her mind, to bring the shreds of her mind back so that she could at least keep the last shreds of her dignity.

It was difficult. But it was the only thing she could do.

She was in limbo, stuck between losing all hope and fighting for her life. Half of her expected the worst. But the rest of her was convinced that, because she was still alive, she was still able to serve some use. If she could be resourceful enough…

But that brought her back to square one. All For One was cunning, that much was true. He was much more ancient and wizened than Rei could ever hope to be at her young age. Surely he had predicted her every move, if she tried to escape from this place. It was the main reason why she had not dared to move from her seat.

Think. Think! What purpose did she serve, if she was still alive?

It was clear that All For One wanted to recruit her. He had been searching for her for years, looking for ways to get her on his side. But why? For what purpose?

Rei feared that she would soon find out.

The moment that he stepped back into the room, the suffocating feeling returned. Rei stiffened immediately in her seat, flinching as a light in the corner of the room was turned on and shone on her. Blinking at the harshness, she came face to face once again with the monstrosity that was All For One, his mask and respirator haunting and gleaming even in the darkness.

"You've been a good little girl, little cat. Nearly a full day has passed and you still haven't moved from your seat."

Silence. It was clear that he was waiting for some sort of response, but Rei simply hung her head. Even if she had the guts to raise her voice and reply, her throat was bone dry from dehydration. She couldn't speak even if she wanted to.

"But no more," he continued. It was becoming clear that he did not expect her to answer. It was cruel. Rei could feel his satisfaction and amusement even from behind the metal facade he bore. "I think it's time to get to see something special. Or rather, someone."

That was enough to gain Rei's attention. Her head raised slowly as she looked upward, a look of confusion and fear on her face.

"Who?"

She hated how raspy her voice was, the way it made her cough in a fit from the dryness that tore at her throat. She hated the man in front of her, the reason for her discomfort and pain. And yet her golden eyes showed nothing but fear, for concern of whom the villain talked about.

"Oh, certainly nothing has happened to Bakugou yet. You've been such a good pet, my dear." The validation felt slimy on her skin, and Rei had to resist a shudder at the partial endearment, partial infantilization. "No, I had someone else in mind. Perhaps you've wondered about your parents, from time to time?"

Rei could no longer speak, but it was clear that her curiosity was piqued. Her parents? The last she had heard of her parents, had seen them, was on a cold and stormy night years ago when she had run away one final time. Rei had physically put a space between her and them and abandoned them, just like they had emotionally abandoned her from the beginning. Why would she care, after all these years?

Why did she care? Did she care? If it was any other situation, Rei would have said that she couldn't have cared any less. But here in this situation, with All For One gleaming down at her, there was an undeniable ball of fear welling in her gut, even for these people that she had resolved to throw out of her life from a young age. What had he done to them? What was going on?

Before she could restrain, Rei nodded her head. All For One was clearly delighted, beckoning for her to stand up and follow him. With his other hand he opened a door behind him, striding through with confidence and only stooping slightly to fit his massive figure through the regular sized door frame. On shaky legs that trembled from exertion and nerves, Rei followed slowly, finally leaving the dark room and entering a new space.

It was beyond what she had imagined.

She was in some kind of warehouse, with tiny windows allowing the faintest shreds of moonlight to filter into the space. It was dark outside, and briefly Rei wondered how many days had truly passed since her capture. Were there heroes out there looking for her as she wandered this desolate space?

No, not desolate. Snapping back to attention, Rei looked on in curiosity at the tubs and tubes that lined the facility. There were dozens of them, lining the walls and the center of the room, all neatly organized according to some sort of schema that she clearly did not understand. It was difficult to see in the hazy dark, even with her enhanced vision, but it was already a welcome change from being trapped in absolute darkness like in the previous room.

She didn't know how it didn't hit her earlier. Perhaps she truly was losing her mind in that place.

The smell sent the hairs on her neck prickling upwards, a jolt of adrenaline running down her spine.

This was not the musty smell of an abandoned warehouse. She knew what that smelled like from the training ground at school.

This… was like a middle school science experiment, a mix of formaldehyde and other astringent qualities that assaulted her nose in a pungent array of layers and made her eyes water.

As she continued to follow All For One, she watched as he stopped in front of a few upright tubes. Golden eyes followed, widening in horror as she looked inside.

Nomus.

Monsters.

Staggering backwards a bit, All For One chuckled at her reaction, seeing her fear so openly displayed once more. "Disgusting pieces of work, aren't they? But it is such a shame. I wonder how your father would feel if he were… here, so to speak."

If her father were here? Rei's eyes narrowed as she looked at the tank, covering her nose with one hand as the smells began to take their toll on her senses. It was making her nauseous. "What… do you mean?" She finally croaked, her precious words wasting away.

But they were not wasted, not to All For One. Even hidden, the smile on his face surely grew. "Ah, I wondered if you would recognize him." Stepping forward to one tube in particular, he rapped a few knuckles against the tank, the sound ringing delicately though slightly dampered. "Then again, you haven't seen your father in years, have you? Changes happen. It's quite alright."

Rei's eyes widened.

He couldn't be implying…

No.

_No. _

"No…"

"Oh, yes. He volunteered, you see? And I couldn't turn down a volunteer."

_No. _

_No, no, no. _

Her father was not a good man. Rei had known that. But no one, absolutely no one, deserved to be morphed into the likening of the grotesque creature that now floated lifelessly in the tank of fluid, half dead, half alive.

Wait.

But that meant that Nomus…

Rei staggered backward again in horror.

"I see you now understand. The history behind the Nomus."

She shook her head adamantly. No, that couldn't be possible. Nomus were monsters, hideous nightmare creatures that destroyed cities and took lives. They fed off of the screams of the innocent, and even the quaking knees and disturbed hearts of the police and heroes that were forced to fight them. Knowing that they had been human…

Golden eyes turned back onto the specific tank that All For One stood next to, golden eyes taking in the bird and cat like features of the nomu. From her deepest memories she summoned an image of her father, blurry as it was. There was no way she could make the connection between that man and the monster in front of her. But All For One seemed so certain, so assured that this was truly her father.

There was no choice but to believe it.

This was more than she could bear. There was too much horror, too much information. Falling to the ground, Rei curled up into a ball. She didn't want to go on. She wanted to cry and sleep and scream and kick, all at the same time.

This was too much.

"Akatsuki Rei." All For One was talking again, and from what it sounded like, this would be long winded again. Rei wanted to shut her ears, to scream at him and tell him to shut up, but the fear of retribution kept her lips cemented shut. "You're a smart girl. Smarter than most. It's the reason why I've taken so many precautious and taken my time to get my hands on you. Surely you realize the situation that you're in."

He loomed over her, forcing Rei to peer up at him while quaking on the cold cement floor that she lay upon. "Consider your options well. I'd rather not have to turn you into a mindless Nomu, but if it comes down to that then I have no qualms against it. Your quirk is powerful, perhaps even better than your father's own. I will have it on my side. How it ends up with me is up to you."

Turning away, he began to fade from her vision. "I will leave you here to ponder your decision. After all, you're not foolish enough to move from where you are now, are you?"

There was a taunting tone in his voice, and Rei knew for sure that he had been watching her in the black room. In an instant the heaviness that smothered the air was removed, and Rei knew that the villain was gone, leaving her alone once more.

Alone, but not unwatched.

The thought alone was enough to make her curl up even further into a ball. She shivered from the chilled cement floor, but she refused to get up. She couldn't bring herself to do it.

Time passed.

Her mind grew hazy.

The knot in her throat refused to go away.

Now, more than ever, Rei wished for a hero to rescue her.

If only she could say goodbye to her friends and family, one last time…

Closing her eyes, a single tear leaked from the side and splattered on the cement.

The building shook, and on the other side of the warehouse the ceiling shattered.

* * *

As soon as Mount Lady demolished the ceiling and side of warehouse, the heroes wasted no time dashing inside amidst the debris and smoke. In an instant the nomus were secured by Beat Jeanist's threads and Gang Orca's fists.

"The nomu hangar is completely under our control."

"Ugh, are these things seriously alive? Still, is it really okay for our job to be this easy though, Jeanist? Maybe we should have gone with All Might."

Jeanist's eyes refused to leave the scene, even as Mount Lady expressed her disgust over the writhing nomu in her hands. They peered into the darkness, watching carefully as the threads under his control pulled even tighter as the nomu wiggled in his grasp. "Don't mix up difficulty and importance together, newcomer."

Still, he had to admit that the situation had been taken control of rather easily. It was mostly thanks to the element of surprise, as well as the fact that there really hadn't been any guards stationed at this outpost. Shrugging off any doubts and concerns, Jeanist returned to the matter at hand. "Riot squad, get the maidens ready. They might still be here."

"Ragdoll, answer me!"

Gang Orca moved toward Tiger's side, but something caught his eye deeper in. No, not something. Someone. He hesitated before moving away, deeper into the warehouse. "Jeanist, how are the nomu holding?"

"Fine enough. Why?"

"I'm going in deeper." Before anyone could say anything, Gang Orca walked deeper into the warehouse, footsteps as delicate as possible. His eyes widened as he took in the shivering form of a small girl that was hunched into a ball, proceeding cautiously but with more haste than before. Black choppy hair told enough of a story, and as he moved to kneel over her form he nearly shouted in relief as golden eyes stared back up at him.

"It's Akatsuki! I've found her!"

Mount Lady's astonishment was the most vocal in the space, but Gang Orca wasted no time scooping up the tiny high school student into his arms. Rei shivered, a hand clutching onto his vest as feverish eyes stared up at him. "G-gang-g Orca?"

He attempted the most reassuring smile that he could, even while being intimidating. "You're fine now, Akatsuki. The heroes are here to take care of things."

"N-n-no… can't move…"

The pro hero blinked, though his footsteps never wavered. Perhaps she was in worse condition than he thought. Her voice was broken, and her eyes were wide, almost delusional.

"He'll come for me. I'm… going to die."

"The heroes are here, Akatsuki-san. You're alright now."

"He's coming."

Footsteps sounded in the dark.

"Sorry Tiger, she's always had a good quirk. Akatsuki as well. It was the perfect opportunity, so I took it."

Rei shuddered in Gang Orca's arms, squeezing her eyes shut.

They were doomed.

* * *

AN: I'm still alive! Another short chapter, but I'm more focused on chunking chapters out and getting you all at least some content instead of worrying so much about how long the chapters are. The ending on this one is a little rushed, but I'm going to go back and fix later instead of worrying about all this stuff up front.

Reminding me of that, as soon as I'm done writing the training camp arc I will probably be taking a small break so that I can go back and start editing what I already have. I'll keep you updated as I go. Please enjoy!

**dragontamer64**: I think it didn't let you post since I technically just replaced chapter 29 with the actual chapter and you probably commented already, but haha yay for thinking of a work around! I'm so glad the last update brought you so much joy, and I'm so happy to be back as well. I'll do my best!

**shad. 16**: I AM BACK :D We're getting into it now! I'm really excited to start working on the next part of this story, especially since I haven't quite figured out what exactly I'm going to do... lol whoops

**Guest**: Thank you! They will probably not be super consistent, but I will do my best to update around once a month.

**Greatest Guy**: Thanks for the review!

**Hired**: Awwww, thank you! You are too kind. I will do my best to continue providing good content.

**akagami hime chan**: I love that you loved the AU chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it as well. And yeah... poor Rei isn't going to get out unscathed. It's definitely different from what I originally planned, but it'll be tough!


	31. Crux - Haru

**Chapter 31**

**Crux**

* * *

"Sorry Tiger, she's always had a good quirk. Akatsuki as well. It was the perfect opportunity, so I brought them here."

Rei shuddered in Gang Orca's arms, squeezing her eyes shut. She wished that she could stay in his arms, tucked away in safety. She wished that the pro hero would run away with her in his grasp, taking her away from the scene of the crime and back to safety. But instead the hero remained rooted to his position, clearly confused and taking in the new scene before him.

They had attacked the building with little resistance, save for what the nomu had given. Now a new player had revealed himself, and there was no telling just what he was going to do.

Gang Orca stood with the rest of the group, staring into the darkness. "Are you with the league?"

Tiger called for a light, but it was in vain. Rei wanted to scream, to tell them to run as fast as possible. Could they not sense the danger that they were in?

"After my body turned into this, I'd depleted a lot of what I'd stocked up…"

"Stop! Don't move!"

But the newest player would not listen. Jeanist immediately moved to detain the villain, and Rei let out a small sigh of relief at the sound of fabric tearing and rending in the distance. She was still wrapped in Gang Orca's arms, tucked away with her face smothered against his chest, unseeing. Perhaps it was for the best, if anything, for her nerves.

Mount Lady protested their leader's actions, but Jeanist immediately reprimanded her line of thinking, pulling the threads tighter instead. But the moment that Rei heard a sparking sound coming from All For One, she knew it was over.

All of a sudden, Rei found herself flying through the air.

The building exploded once more.

Rei couldn't help the yelp that sounded from her as she was yanked from Gang Orca's arms, sailing through the air amidst the debris and concrete remnants that scattered along with her. But the force of the explosion was faster than Rei found herself flying, and chunks of stone and metal embedded themselves into her body. She raised her hands to her face, trying to cover herself and protect her as best as possible, but nothing could prepare her for the sensation of collision.

The moment she collided with the cement wall, her head smacked against the building, and it was lights out.

* * *

"_Rei, you can't give up yet. … Hey! Rei!" _

_Haru? _

"_Oh, thank god."_

… _I'm dead again, aren't I. _

"_Don't give up! You can't!" _

_I know. But… what's the point? It's over. And I…_

"_You're here, and you're going to survive. You'll figure something out." _

_But what if I can't? I don't think I have it in me. The pain… What if-_

"_What if, what if, what if? So you failed to escape one time, failed to outwit this villain. How many other times have you outwitted your opponents and defeated them in times of crisis?" _

_That's different-_

"_I beg to differ. You're preparing to be a hero. Haven't all these experiences added up to make you who you are? What does it matter if it was practice? Practice prepares you for the real thing. Have you forgotten that?" _

_Sorry, it's just that it's all too real, all so suddenly._

"_So was USJ. So was Hosu City. And now, you have a choice to make."_

_I know. You're right, as always._

"_Of course I am. Someone has to keep you in line." _

_But what if-no, sorry. _

"_Hm?" _

_I have to do this. I will do this. No more 'what ifs' now." _

"_That's right. That's better." _

_Haru, thank you._

"_It's nothing. I'm here for you." _

_You've never left my side, have you?_

"_Never. Never in a thousand years, and a thousand times a thousand more. I'll be here until the end." _

_Thank you. _

"_Now go. And remember, I'm right here with you. You're not alone." _

_I was never alone. _

"_You're damn right." _

* * *

"_Midoriya, how are things on your end?"_

The green haired boy looked to his comrades, who were all appearing to catch their breath save for Bakugou. Even Midoriya himself was panting slightly, though he tried to calm his wildly beating heart and level his breathing for the sake of the call and for appearances. How in the world had they managed to get away with a plan that risky?

But they did. "Yeah, we're fine. How are you guys? Were you able to make a clean escape?"

"_I think so. We escaped from behind. The pros are giving us evacuation instructions." _

Midoriya breathed a sigh of relief. From what it sounded like, every one of them was accounted for and safe. At least for the time being. "Good! We're in front of the station. Looks like we're out of range of that shockwave. Our recovery was successful!"

"Oi! Listen! You didn't rescue me, okay? You all just happened to be the best escape route!" Bakugou frowned as Midoriya said a few final words to Todoroki and slid his phone back into his pocket. "I didn't want to get in All Might's way," he finally added for good measure.

"Oh, Bakugou, speaking of which…"

The group turned to Kirishima, who looked slightly sheepish.

"Where's Akatsuki?"

If Bakugou had been pissed, he looked absolutely livid. But Midoriya had known his childhood friend for long enough, and saw tinges of regret lining his face simultaneously. To top things off, much to everyone's surprise, Bakugou only scoffed at the question.

"She got taken away. Hell if I know where she is."

"Oi, don't say that. She's our classmate, you know…"

But the explosive boy's fists were clenched tightly, and there was no hiding the fact that he looked just as disappointed as the rest of them.

A few minutes later the television at the front of the station flickered to life, the news channel turned on and honed in on the epicenter of the mess. All they could do from her was watch, pray that they made the right decision, and hope that Akatsuki would be found in the mess of this.

* * *

The sensation of returning to the real world was like trying to cram toothpaste back into its tube. It was like her soul had departed halfway and was trying to be shoved back into a body that was two sizes too small, uncomfortable and making her want to tear her hair out from the struggle. Hell, it was even worse than that moment of teleportation that had been used on her to drag her away from Bakugou and that League of Villains secret hide out, from what she could guess. But second by second, moment by moment, as she was forced to endure the discomfort, she slowly began to regain feeling. Her fingers came first as her spirit almost slid in like gloves, finger tips twitching and regaining sensation. Then the rest of her body began to follow; arms and legs, then her torso, then finally, her head and mind. Like slime being forced to take on the shape of its container she began to coalesce and return to the present.

Sharply gasping for air, Rei inhaled deeply as she coughed, bits of blood coming up as she tried to swallow it down. Her eyes flew open but shut tightly once again after seeing a blinding light being pointed in her face. It was then that she began to take in her physical surroundings, slowly coming to terms with everything.

She felt like she had just been slammed into by a freight train, the worst of which was her chest. It felt like her chest was caving in on her, like a horse had kicked her rib cage in on itself.

Strange. She could have sworn that she landed on her back, not her front.

The blood continued to come up, Rei coughing one final time and spitting to clear her mouth of the vile sensation. Her head pounded. And yet, she was very much alive.

What was going on?

"Young Akatsuki!"

It was a voice that was all too familiar. She had grown accustomed to hearing it almost every day during school. Cracking a golden eye open, she looked forward at her teacher, who was looking incredibly mortified and shaking his steaming hand out as though…

As though… he had just punched something.

"I only came to save Tomura, but if you say you're going to fight, then I will too."

It was the voice she had never wanted to hear again. And here she had been hoping that somehow, a miracle had been pulled. She had been safe with Gang Orca. Or had she imagined all that? Was everything a dream? No, this certainly didn't seem like a dream any longer.

She was so close to rescue, but with All For One standing at her back she was so far.

She was a doll hanging limply in his grasp.

Coughing again, Rei hung her head. "S-sensei…"

She didn't want to watch the disappointment on All Might's face, even if it was at his own mistake. She couldn't bear to witness it. Instead she remained silent, trying not to scream from the pain as All For One continued to talk.

"In the past, your fist crushed one after another of my comrades. You were extolled as the Symbol of Peace. The view you had from atop our sacrifices… it must have been a great one."

Rei could hear All For One's quirk powering up again, the same one that had exploded the building before. Head bowed in resignation, Rei slumped over. This was it. This was truly it. She had been so close.

"How does it feel, All Might? To have one of your own taken away from you? This is only the beginning, starting with young Akatsuki."

"Detroit-"

"This is only the beginning!"

"SMASH!"

A fist grabbed Rei by the front of her hoodie, causing her to open her eyes in surprise. They were quickly closed once more as she was swung around like a ragdoll, being stowed behind All Might as he countered All For One's attack with a blow of his own. The wind shrieked around her ears, the currents sailing violently and swirling around All Might's body, thankfully blocking and shielding Rei from most of the surge.

But they were far from being in the clear.

The two of them were sliding backwards, and Rei could hear the grunts of strain coming from All Might himself. Was All For One this powerful in a one on one situation? Clearly Rei had underestimated his overall strength if the villain was able to push back the Symbol of Peace himself.

Eventually they came to a halt, and Rei was dropped back onto the ground. She cried out in pain as she rolled over. Something was definitely broken, though at this point she was in too much pain physically and emotionally to begin pinpointing what was wrong. There was so much going on, the world swirling around her in a haze of panic and rising emotions that drowned everything out.

"Young Akatsuki… are you alright?"

Before Rei could even answer, All For One was speaking again. "I won't let you fight without reserve, All Might! Heroes have many things they need to protect, don't they?"

Even through the pain, Rei scowled. "Sensei… fight!"

"Young Akatsuki…"

"Fight!"

All Might grimaced and turned back to the villain at hand. "Shut up, you… You always toy with people like this! You break them, steal them, take advantage of them at every turn! I…"

In the blink of an eye he was flying forward, tackling All For One and driving him into the ground. Rei startled at the sound of breaking pavement and dirt as the air and ground reverberated from the impact, but sighed in relief.

The villain was subdued.

She needed to get out of here.

Hauling herself to her feet, Rei grit her teeth from the pain. She refused to worry her teacher any longer, not while he was performing hero duties. He needed to focus on subduing the villain anyway. All Might didn't need any more distractions.

Through the pain, Rei began to stagger away toward the messy perimeter of the fight. In the distance she could hear sirens and shouting voices, most likely first responders helping civilians escape from the area.

"Oi! You!"

A flash of yellow suddenly appeared at her side, hands flying out to support Rei. She hissed in pain, but looked up in surprise at the pro hero that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. No, not just any pro hero. Rei wracked her brain, confusion clearly on her face before the name came to her.

"Gran Torino?"

He looked the young girl up and down, a scowl deepening on his face. "We need to get you to the medics. Hurry!"

Rei nodded, accepted his help marginally. It was hard to rely on him when so much of her hurt. But perhaps things were looking up once more. She noted duly that the pro hero had turned his head to look behind them at the struggling hero and villain, his eyes watching the grapple intently. Did he know All Might personally?

"What's wrong?"

All progress halted at All For One's leering voice, Rei stopping dead in her tracks. Even if his comment hadn't been directed at her, simply hearing the steely tone of voice was enough to make her freeze.

"You seem to be very worked up about something, All Might."

"Akatsuki, isn't it?"

Gran Torino's voice at her side pulled her from her musings. He urged her own, trying to drag her behind him. "We have to get out of here quick. Don't mind them. Haul yourself out!"

"R-right."

They had only made it a few more steps before All Might screamed in agitation, drawing Rei's attention. She had been slow, unable to fully turn in a quick enough manner, but it was enough to see what was coming once more.

Another explosion rocked the ground, knocking Rei off her feet once more and sending her through the air for the second time that night. But this time, there was no bracing herself. Her body was broken enough, unable to twist and save herself.

This was truly the end.

It was surprising, how final it felt. It was even more surprising how much Rei had simply accepted it from the moment she was airborne. But this time, she was somehow at peace. No matter what happened, there was a sensation of satisfaction, of calm.

If this was the end, then she would accept it.

She hit the ground.

* * *

Her consciousness peeled away from her body, like every other time it had happened. Like USJ, like Hosu City. Eyes closed, she didn't need to open them. The darkness was all around, and she was certain that she would drive herself mad if she attempted to stare into the abyss any longer. If she kept her eyes closed, she could convince herself that she was simply dreaming, floating away in a moment's respite that would eventually come undone.

But this time, she was uncertain if she wanted to return. Her face scrunched in pain and agony before smoothing out as she thought of all the pain she had lived through. Did she want to return to that reality, where her body was broken in numerous ways that she didn't want to even think about ever again?

She hoped that Haru wouldn't send her back this time. Brows furrowing, she suddenly began to wonder. Where was Haru anyway? At this point, she normally would have spoken up and said something. But instead she was still here in this lonely place, devoid of any other person.

"Rei!"

There. Haru's voice. But this time, it was strangely clear. Every other time they had spoken, it was like hearing her voice underwater or behind a waterfall, with some sort of barrier partially muffling her words. But now Haru's voice rang out clear as day, as though she was standing mere feet away from her.

It was curious enough to make Rei open her eyes slowly. A warm light like the afternoon sun filtered in, making her eyes wince as they adjusted to the brightness.

But as soon as they could see clear enough, they shot open.

In front of her stood Haru, her hand outstretched and beckoning her friend to grab it.

She looked older now, comparable to any other teenager had she still been alive. Fair blonde hair tumbled around her shoulders in waves, blue eyes shining brilliantly though in a bit of panic and fear. She was still wearing their middle school uniform, making Rei's chest swirl with a sense of nostalgia as she took the entire image in.

She was alive. They were both alive.

How were they alive? Were they actually?

Hand still outstretched, Haru leaned forward a little more. "Rei! Take my hand!"

For a moment Rei simply froze, so shocked at Haru's sudden appearance that she nearly missed what she had said. But snapping out of her stupor she stretched her own hand forward, meeting her halfway. With a surprisingly solid tug Rei found herself floating down to the ground, landing on a sort of wooden dock that was placed in the middle of a lake that stretched out in all directions. Taking a moment she looked around in wonder, confusion on her face as she tried to make sense of what had happened.

The two girls now stood near the end of a pier, a wooden dock that extended off into the distance, it other end indiscernible. Blue skies and fluffy white clouds looked more like a painting than reality over head, reflected by the crystal clear and still waters all around them. Rei's lips parted in wonder as she looked around, before golden eyes finally turned back to Haru.

Her hands were clasped behind her back, a small smile on her face though concern was in her eyes still. Even still, Rei could feel the genuine warmth radiating from her friend as she smiled.

Haru was here.

"Hey, Rei."

* * *

.

.

.

* * *

**Chapter 31.5**

**Haru**

* * *

_In this short Life that only lasts an hour_

_How much - how little - is within our power_

_[-Emily Dickinson]_

* * *

Life was not like the movies where a pair of defibrillators could shock someone's heart back into motion, sending electric currents into their body that would overcome the boundaries between life and death. Life wasn't like those medical television shows where the heroics of a select few in a hospital ward could deliver sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, back to their teary eyed families. Life wasn't like a story where the hero would overcome the shadows of death and return to the world of the living in triumph, bringing with them some critical knowledge of how to solve their problems and bring peace and harmony to all.

In shows and films, writers sought to conquer death with the pen, directors with their lens, lulling audiences into the fragmented peace of believing that death could be overcome and rewritten. It was something to be defeated, a dull creature whose gaping jaw and terrible talons were sent back into the abyss of darkness, to be subjugated by a word, a feeling, an idea.

But life was not like a film, or a novel, or a television show. In the end, death came for everyone, without exception. Death did not discriminate between the wealthy and the poor, the famous and the outcasts, human or otherwise.

There had been rumors, stories about people who had claimed to see the other side. Individuals who had quite literally died, their final breath leaving their chest as the paramedics and other professionals called out times and taking their notes before resigning themselves to the fact that there was nothing more they could do to massage a deadened heart back to its regular cadence. Then, perhaps a few minutes, or even a half an hour later, they would return. Eyes that claimed to have seen the eyes of god, to have reached a land that somehow suggested that heaven existed and that a second life wasn't so far out of reach. An astral plane, a wondrous place where the dead were not so dead, were instead remade perfectly and living in harmony with neighbors young and old.

Haru had never believed it, not for a second.

Life was not a fairytale. It was dark and destructive, and sought to consume all those who were not careful or lucky.

But frankly she wasn't sure what she believed when it came to death.. The afterlife wasn't a common topic that an elementary school student seriously considered unless for some unlucky reason they were confronted with their mortality. But when middle school came she couldn't deny that she was aware of human mortality and the fact that no one could live forever. Not even those with quirks that claimed to regenerate faster than their bodies could devolve.

Quirks were physical abilities, and physics had determined that everything would return to dust somehow, some way.

But none of that was on her mind in the beginning. She was busy with school work, running around the streets of Kumo City with her best friend, calculating the probability of their survival in their current fight and their success in the next. With each sunset came the simple satisfaction that they had survived another day. No one happened to think about the converse.

In the end, death came for everyone.

Haru was no exception.

She remembered a hazy fog coming over her mind with such serenity that she didn't even question it. It was in the next moment that she realized that she was standing on the edge of the bridge, water rushing and churning far below her feet. So suddenly had her mental cognitive properties been returned to her that she had been left in a stupor, save for the resignation that she had been about to fall down into the depths below and that a pair of golden eyes were looking back at her in fear.

Fear. People feared death, didn't they?

In the end, death came for everyone.

Did Rei fear death? Cocky, bold, and outspoken Rei, who would dive into a fight no matter what Haru told her about their odds of winning? She who seemed to shape and mould the future to her will, even without Haru's assistance? In that split second, Haru saw a fragment of truth; Rei did not fear death itself, but feared what death would take from her.

But while Haru could not speak for others, she could speak for herself.

Haru couldn't swim. The shocking cold that surrounded her after her body had fallen into the water had made her gasp, inhaling water as a consequence. That was when the fear took over, the panic, the raw and primal urge to stay alive. But it was inevitable.

In the end, death came for everyone.

Her mind wasn't even functioning when a pair of hands had reached her. Haru knew she was dying. She was panicking. What was on the other side?

It was only time until she found out, time that seemed to rush forward toward her too quickly with jaws that snapped at her neck. Her eyes closed, heart unsteady as everything hit her in an instant.

In the end, death came for everyone.

* * *

_I have a rendezvous with Death_

_At some disputed barricade,_

_When Spring comes back with rustling shade_

_And apple-blossoms fill the air—_

_I have a rendezvous with Death_

_When Spring brings back blue days and fair._

_It may be he shall take my hand_

_And lead me into his dark land_

_And close my eyes and quench my breath—_

_It may be I shall pass him still._

_I have a rendezvous with Death_

_On some scarred slope of battered hill,_

_When Spring comes round again this year_

_And the first meadow-flowers appear._

_-Alan Seeger_

_I Have a Rendezvous With Death_

* * *

In one moment, she was drowning in darkness.

In the next, she simply was.

Everything vanished. The frigid chill, the cold that was all consuming inside and out, the heaviness in her lungs. The black that had covered her vision like a kerchief had slowly lowered over her eyes until she was convinced that she had entered some new abyss, and now all of it was suddenly yanked away. Her arms wrapped around herself as she shuddered, inhaling deeply and surprised to find that she could breathe the free air once again, a ghost of a feeling traveling up her spine at the suddenness in which she found herself isolated in some new land. Eyes opened slowly to look around herself, head turning left and right as she took it all in.

She was lying in some shallows, back pressed against a sandy bottom while tiny waves soothingly washed over her and lapped at her body. The sun was shining brilliantly above her head, blue skies with puffy white clouds floating high in the cerulean canvas. Paradise, like one of those films about a tropical island where cares did not exist.

She frowned. This was not where she was. Hadn't she been in the river, in the afternoon? From the position of the sun, it couldn't have been later than noon. It was impossible.

Sitting up was much more difficult than she had originally imagined it would be. It was like her back had been suction cupped to the ground, head lolling backward for a moment even though she tried to pull herself up. Her muscles strained, fought, and screamed before she finally managed to sit on her bottom, head upright and looking about herself in confusion. For miles around all she could see was water, sparkling blue and crystal clear. To her left and to her right was a shoreline that extended as far her eyes could see, pristine and like some travel brochure for a tropical island instead of her native Kumo City. She was still dressed in her school uniform, the only thing she could recognize as her skirt floated around in the water and her top pressed to her chest.

What in the world was going on?

"Hey there."

Surprised, Haru turned her head as best as she could, lips parting as she stared at a woman that had suddenly appeared behind her. Grey eyes and an amused face beamed down at her, a yellow gloved hand outstretched as she offered her help. "Need a hand getting up?"

Blinking slowly, Haru finally rolled over to her knees, grasping the woman's hand as strong arms hefted the young girl to her feet. "Who are you?"

"Call me Nana." The woman was all confidence and smiles, placing her hands on her hips as she looked down at the youngster. She had to have been in her early or late thirties, at least, though it was impossible to tell exactly how old she was. But there was something about her, a feeling that Haru got, that made her feel as though she had lived through more years than that. "I'm sure you're wondering where you are?"

A frown crossed Haru's face as she looked down. "I was in the river, drowning."

"Yeah. I saw that."

Haru's head whipped up to stare into grey eyes. "What… do you mean?"

At this Nana's look turned sympathetic, soft. It was filled with pity, and Haru wasn't certain that she liked that look. "You were so young. I'm sorry."

It hit her like a ton of bricks. She staggered, hands clutching her chest, as though feeling for a heartbeat. Mind swirling, she felt as though she would fall to her knees if not for the steadying hands of the woman in front of her.

"I'm… dead?" Turning swiftly, she looked back out to the sea. "Rei! Where-"

No one was there.

With her face looking out to the sea, back turned toward her savior, she missed the frown that crossed Nana's face. But when she began to hear footsteps sloshing away in the water she turned back to look at the older woman, watching warily as Nana briefly turned her head back to the younger. Her voice was lowly and urgent, beckoning Haru to hurry. "Come with me."

Confused, Haru hesitated for a moment before hastily scrambling after her guide, tripping over herself as she tried to run as fast as possible through the water that rose just above her ankle. It wasn't for long as they finally made their way to dry land, trekking a ways away down the shoreline. With the ocean on her left, Haru looked to the right, surprised at what she saw. "Nana-san, what's over there?"

"The afterlife," she answered breezily, as though it was the most obvious and commonplace answer she could give. "That's where everyone goes after they die. There's no pain, no grief. The world as it should be, as some have said."

It was strange. The vision of what she saw continued to shift, as though she were looking through a multifaceted diamond whose surfaces each contained a different picture. In one she saw someone running through a forest with a friend, chasing after a deer that bounded away, all before it shifted to a modern house and a family working in the front yard, chattering away. Skyscrapers, villages, electricity, fire, the old world and the new clashing and collaborating with one another in scenes that Haru could barely comprehend. Even though Nana had stated that it was as the world was supposed to be, there were a million different interpretations and events, juxtaposed over and under one another in a dazzling dimension beyond comprehension. Shaking her head, Haru turned her attention back to the woman leading her, surprised at where their feet had taken them.

They were now standing at the edge of a pier that jutted out from the land far into the sea, a small wooden dock that was wide enough for maybe three or four people. It was completely empty, and Haru wondered how she hadn't seen it before. They hadn't been walking for that long; shouldn't she have seen it when she was sitting in the water? But there was no time for questions as Nana strode purposefully down the dock, her boots thudding against solid wood and bringing Haru out of her musings as she chased the older woman down.

It was then as they began to walk down the dock that they came into view; it started with one or two projections, like television screens that floated in the sky, then a handful. As they progressed further and further down the dock they began to multiply exponentially, layering over and behind one another as various scenes played out. Haru stared in wonder at the newest change in the scenery. What was the purpose of all this?

"This place here," Nana began, "is what some people might call the waiting room. The middle ground, the crossing point. Purgatory, even. Choose what you will."

"So the afterlife and this are separate?"

"Right!" She flashed a thumbs up, tossing a smile over her shoulder briefly before looking forward at their path. They were making their way toward the end of the dock, a platform at the end that could probably fit twenty people comfortably. Still it was empty, but Nana continued. "This is where people come right when they die. From earth to these waters, they float to the shoreline of the afterlife, much like you did."

"Then, what are these images?"

Nana merely pointed a finger toward one image close to them. "Watch."

It was a sorry scene, an image of a hospital room and an elderly man who lay on his deathbed. Haru could see the people around him with astonishing clarity, their grief tangible. Suddenly something shifted in the image, a ghostly version of the elderly man lifting and separating from his body and ascending toward Haru rapidly. He emerged from the projection, peeling himself from the other dimension like a sticker off of a piece of fruit as he bowed over slowly, tipping over the edge. Then with sudden grace the ghostly body began to fall, down and down, into the ocean until he hit the water with a splash. Haru's eyes were wide as she watched the corpse float back up to the surface and slowly make its way to the shore, drifting with the tide.

A shudder ran down her spine at the unnaturalness of the scene. "This is…"

"These are portals into the real world. From here, we can see everything on earth." Nana's eyes flashed dangerously. "I wouldn't recommend going through them. You'll be trapped there forever as a ghost."

Nodding her head furiously at the warning, Haru walked a little quicker to catch up. "Nana-san, why are we here?"

"You mentioned you had a friend with you, right? One you expected to die as well?" When the woman put it that way, it almost sounded as though Haru wanted Rei to die, a rather evil thought. But Nana seemed to think nothing of it, instead pointing into the sky. "There."

Haru's eyes lifted, and any guilt she might have had vanished. "Rei!"

Suspended in the air, Rei's body had folded itself into a fetal position, her eyes closed as though dreaming. But the most strange part was that the longer Haru watched, the more she realized that Rei was not moving. Unlike the older gentleman who had fallen out of his earthly portal and into the ocean, Rei seemed to hover in between this realm and the other, balanced and hanging in suspense as though she were unable to tip in either direction. But as Haru looked closer, she noticed a strange feature that was hanging around Rei's neck, something that she was certain hadn't been in the real world.

Pointing a finger of her own, Haru's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Nana-san, what is going on? And what is _that_?"

"You mean that red scarf around her neck?" Nana crossed her arms over her chest. "That is Rei's life force. Some call it the red string of fate. Everyone has one, though you can't see it as a living human." Grey eyes crossed, as though considering something. "Normally, they aren't that big though. Whatever the reason, it's keeping her from fully crossing into this realm."

Hand fluttered to her own neck, eyes turning downward as she felt something on her skin. Similarly, Haru had a red string of her own, although it was no thicker than the width of a pen. From her neck a piece about one foot in length draped down over her chest, causing Haru to panic as she lifted it up. "My string, it's-"

"Ah, don't worry, that's normal. Once you die, it gets cut off from the real world." She pointed again back to Rei, the two of them turning their attention back into the sky. "Do you see how hers is still connected with her body back in the real world?"

Sure enough, Haru could see that while Rei was lingering in the air, the thick red scarf that was tied around her neck in this ghostly realm was extending back into her body back on earth, where the other end was similarly tied around her neck. Haru sighed in relief. "So then, Rei can still return."

"Yes, although for some reason, she's hanging in limbo." Nana frowned at this. "I've never seen anything like this, not in all my time being in this place. Something is both keeping her from entering this place, yet preventing her from returning."

It took a moment for Haru to think of reasons why this was, but once she thought about it, things began to fall into place. "Regeneration." This time it was Nana's turn to look surprised as she stared down at the young girl next to her. Haru's eyes were trained fully on her friend, watching to see if anything changed. "Her quirk is called Nine Lives. She heals faster than anyone I know."

"I see. Perhaps then her body is trying to heal itself and bring her back to life in that world."

"But then why isn't she going back? Why is she stuck?"

"A lingering will." The frown on Nana's face deepened, concern coming to the forefront. "Unfinished business. If something doesn't happen soon, she might die in the real world but continue on as a ghost."

"But then, that means…"

"She'll never make it to the afterlife. She'll be stuck there forever."

Haru was never one to pray. She had never thought anything of any particular god, only once in a while shooting a prayer to her lucky stars above her head on the occasion. But in this place, a place that she had never imagined that could exist, she found herself bowing her head and placing her hands over her heart.

_Please. Let Rei return back to earth. Let her live. Please, I call on every lucky star, on all the luck that life had given me._

_Haru?_

With a gasp, her head jolted up. Nana looked surprised at her outburst, jumping slightly at the suddenness. But Haru knew she had heard Rei's voice. "... Rei?"

_Haru, where are you?_

"I can hear her." Haru's words came out rushed, still unbelieving at what was happening. Turning her head to Nana, she looked to the woman for guidance. "I can hear her! She's speaking to me!"

"Then perhaps she's lingering because of you."

"Me?" But it was clear. If Rei was dying, that meant that she had jumped in to save Haru herself. That was how her best friend operated, the two of them with one another to the very end. To the brink. And now, to the shores beyond death itself, so it seemed. Turning her eyes back to Rei for a moment before closing them tightly, she wished with all her heart and all her willpower, speaking in her mind and hoping that Rei could hear her. _Rei, I'm okay. Go back._

_But what about you?_

_I'm safe now. Go back. Live._

_Haru…_

_Go, Rei! I'm okay! Go back, before you can't!_

_Are you sure?_

_Yes. I've never been more certain._

_Haru, you're slipping away._

A sound of surprise came from Nana as she sucked in a sharp breath, shocked at something that was happening. "She's moving back in." Eyes opening, Haru looked to see that Nana was right. Slowly, the red scarf around Rei's neck was dragging her back into the portal. She could see Rei's finger twitch, arm extended toward Haru in an unconscious gesture.

_Haru, where are you?_

_I'm with you, Rei. I always am. _

_Haru, I can't hear you. Haru-_

As soon as her head passed back into the portal, the connection broke. Haru wasn't really sure how she hadn't noticed it come in in the first place, but all she knew was that she couldn't talk to Rei any longer, and neither could Rei hear her. Back in the image Rei's ghostly form fell back into her body, chest seizing as paramedics stood around her in shock. The scene seemed to pause for a moment, everyone frozen as they took everything in before movements erupted in a swirl of chaos, medics yelling and giving orders while they worked to stabilize the now living girl that was once thought to be dead.

Haru sighed shakily, tears in her eyes. She was still alive. Rei had made it back.

But now what would happen?

Turning back to Nana, Haru was surprised to see the woman with an astonished look plastered across her face. Slowly she turned her head back down to look at Haru, looking at the girl as though appraising her and trying to see something that she hadn't seen before. "Never have I ever…" She trailed off, still looking curiously at Haru.

"Nana-san, now what?"

Her question seemed to break the woman out of her stupor, returning to the present moment. "The afterlife. That's where everyone goes, once they make it to these shores."

A frown covered Haru's face. "But what about you?"

"See this?" Nana tugged on a red strand that extended from her neck, looking rather tattered and thread bare in some places. But now that she had brought attention to it, Haru could see that it was still connected to something, no matter how thin the line got at times. It weaved through the air before splitting into multiple ties, a web of red lines shooting across the sky as far as Haru's eyes could see and even further than that. "I'm dead too, but I've still got a connection. It's important for a lot of reasons, so I've got to keep watching from this pier back to earth. It's not time for me to completely pass on yet."

Haru turned her gaze to look back down the pier, over into where the afterlife was. Shimmering, dazzling, hopeful. Yet Haru couldn't help but shudder at being a part of that. A piece of her clamped onto the feeling that her path led her elsewhere. Perhaps someday, but not yet.

"I think," she began carefully, "that it's not time for me either." Nodding her head, she looked to Nana with determination. "I need to find out exactly why Rei hasn't passed on yet. All I know was that I was able to get her to go back. What if she needs me again?"

There were many questions, too many that Haru didn't even understand how to articulate yet, let alone find answers. But Nana simply seemed to accept her answer with a nod and a grin. "Are you sure?"

Haru simply smiled. "Rei is the most important person to me. The afterlife-no," she shook her head, hand placed over her heart, "I can wait until we can both see it together. Until then, she needs my help."

A yellow gloved hand suddenly extended between the two, Haru looking at it in confusion before her gaze lifted to Nana's face. The older woman simply grinned widely, eyes sparkling with some unnamed emotion. "Shimura Nana. If you're going to be here in the waiting room with me, we might as well start on the right foot. Let's be friends and work together."

For a moment Haru simply stared before a smile slowly crept onto her face as well. Placing her smaller hand into Nana's, she shook it firmly. "Chisaki Haru. Please take care of me."

"Right! You can count on me, Haru-chan!"

* * *

"_The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. _

_Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?" _

_-Edgar Allan Poe_

* * *

Time in this space, surprisingly, was not terribly difficult to comprehend.

If someone were to describe the realm after death, Haru most likely would have theorized that such a space existed outside the fourth dimension, with time becoming irrelevant. It wasn't so difficult to consider a world where, unlike the world of the living that was defined by seconds, days, and millenia, there existed a separate universe where time did not exist. Perhaps the land of the dead was such a place, an infinitely large place in which time meant nothing.

Perhaps being in the realm of afterlife was like that. Haru's eyes often drifted to that iridescent gem that lay beyond the beach, a swirling vibrant community that was just beyond her reach. If she wanted, she could reach out and become a part of it. Happy, content, and amused to the rest of her days. But every time such thoughts would come to her mind and linger for just a while too long, regret would step in. No, she would wait. She would wait a thousand years for Rei to join her. They would take those steps together.

Here in the realm in between, or the waiting room as both she and Nana like to call it, time was still relevant, though still just beyond their grasp. It was there when they looked into the portals to earth, as they watched time progress. Thousands of windows, all proceeding at the pace at which the earth ran, a common metric that was still familiar and comprehensible. Even though Haru now existed in a world where time did not necessarily rule her any longer, she was able to order her thoughts and make sense of her world by staring into those portals. Days, weeks, years. They would all pass before her eyes, as she struggled to understand her latest tribulation.

Being dead was a concept that Haru continued to struggle with. Some days she would simply sit on the docks, placidly watching the human world continue to spin. Other days she would despair, the grief of being separate from that world and in particular from Rei too much to bear. She grieved that she couldn't touch her friend, tell her how much she missed her or when she was taking risks that were beyond Haru's probability manipulation, to keep her in line and keep her winning. The days that Haru watched were ending more and more often in losses, and all she could do was helplessly follow Rei through her days as she struggled.

Why did she have to die? Why couldn't she still live, instead of being chained to this unfeeling and empty space?

It wasn't entirely true, since Nana was there. But even the older woman couldn't be around all the time, so busy with watching her own side of things and talking with the others with whom she held connections with and were also in this realm. Nana was still busy, which left Haru to sit and stew in her thoughts, often darkly. No, Haru was not alone, but at times the hole in her chest ate away at her until she wanted to scream and tear her hair out from the despair that threatened to tear her apart from within.

She was lonely, and sad.

It didn't help that Rei was barely coping as well. On more than a few instances she had willingly thrown herself from the bridge again, had put herself through a variety of gruesome ways to die, in order to see if her survival had been a fluke. Each time, Haru watched as her body ascended through the portal, but still refusing to fully come through into the undead realm, wavering on the border.

Each time, Haru pushed her back through into the world of the living, tears running down her own face as she did so.

The first few times, Haru had sternly told Rei to return to the world of the living. But soon it became clear that Rei was becoming dependent on her - addicted to her latest gruesome indulgence, even - desperate to hear Haru's voice. So she fell silent, instead using the shred of her quirk and what remained of it in this lonely realm to push her best friend back and force her to continue living. She didn't want Rei to continue her horrifying scheme of pushing herself to the brink just to hear Haru's voice. So instead, she put an end to it.

Eventually, Rei got the idea. She gave up, convinced that Haru's voice was a hallucination. She resigned herself to the world of the living. That, at least, gave Haru some reassurance. Rei's willingness to throw herself into the realm of the dead had been terrifying and bone chilling.

That, and the fact that her red ribbon, which had been thicker than a winter scarf, was beginning to thin.

It hadn't been so clear at first. But on the last few times that Rei had killed herself, Haru had started to notice the change. She had brought it up to Nana out of concern, worried for Rei's health. The woman had simply frowned, shaking her head.

"This is news to me as much as it is to you," she spoke solemnly. "But if I had to wager a guess, it would be a sign of her mortality."

"Quirks are physical abilities," Haru mused, thinking about what Nana had told her many months prior.

"That's right. Rei might see it as her quirk giving her immortality, but there's no such thing. Her life force is simply multiple times larger than a normal person's. But even that isn't limitless."

It was the final, deciding factor in why Haru had stopped talking with Rei, instead sending her back to the world of the living in silence. She couldn't let Rei continue crossing that border so recklessly, especially since her friend didn't realize that her life was literally being whittled down. Thankfully, the red line was still thick, more than four times the size of the normal person if she had to wager, but the unexpected could always happen.

Haru had to protect Rei, especially if the latter didn't realize the truth about herself and the nature of her quirk.

Time passed. Rei continued to tumble through life with Haru watching on in anxiety. She watched the world pass by, occasionally turning to watch historical events in the making, but she always had one eye on her childhood friend.

Then came the day where Reina stepped into Rei's life.

Haru had to be honest; she was jealous at first. Jealous that someone could walk into Rei's life and make the best out of everything, pulling the moody teenager out of her dark place and putting her on the road to success. Haru should have been the one to do that. From the beginning it had been the two of them, Haru and Rei, Rei and Haru. And now a stranger had simply waltzed in? Haru had seethed for days on end. That was supposed to be her place, if she was still alive. Then more than ever she grieved the fact that she had died.

But more time passed, and the jealousy waned as it transformed into thankfulness. Rei never forgot Haru, all throughout. If anything, Rei had been turned onto a path of honoring Haru's memory, a path that her new mentor had set her upon. The dark rebel now had focus and a drive, a desire to become a hero that would stand up for the outcasts like she and Haru had been. How could Haru feel anger and bitterness towards this woman, who clearly had no intention of taking Haru's place? She who had turned Rei from a certain path of destruction to one that spoke of restoration?

The realization came, one day, that Reina had not taken Haru's place. It was simply that Rei's heart had opened up to accept another person in her life, someone that would make her a better person.

It was the reason why, when Reina's body had threatened to fall into the realm of the dead, Haru had quietly pushed her back into the world of the living.

It was a difficult task, considering that other than a common friend, the two women had no relationship at all. But with gritted teeth and a will harder than tungsten thrown into fire, Haru pulled her quirk together to push Reina back into the world of the living. She hadn't survived completely, forced into a coma. But it was enough that she was given a second chance.

Haru knew that it was not her place to be an arbiter of fate, to determine who got to live and who would pass on into the afterlife. But just this one time, she promised herself, she would twist the little bit of fate that she could. For Rei. She would not let her friend teeter off the edge, not when she had been so lucky.

Perhaps it was Rei that had been the lucky one, and not her after all.

When You Wish. That was what they had named her quirk. At first it seemed to be that whatever Haru wished for would come true. It wasn't until she got older that the finer details grew more firm; probability manipulation wasn't a terribly common quirk, but neither was it completely unseen. By the time she reached the first grade it was clear what her quirk did, allowing her to tweak statistical probabilities in her favor, like the likelihood of a snow day in February when the weather was on the verge of a downpour or that a bully would slide on a small puddle in the hallway and knock the wind out of themselves. Sometimes Haru would get lost in statistical probabilities, combing through realistic options for so long that Rei would be forced to shake her arm in order to get her to come back down to earth. But sometimes, it was as easy as it sounded, like throwing a wish out to a shooting star.

She was always told growing up that she was lucky to have such a strong quirk. Surely it was a quirk suited for a strong hero, and her future seemed to be solidified in an instant. But she kept quiet, kept her head down, to ensure that she would never leave Rei behind. Thicker than thieves, many people had called them.

But then Haru was robbed of life herself. And now, she felt as though she had to figure out her quirk all over again. Quirks in the afterlife were strange. It was as though they were shadows of their former selves, still near and dear and within grasp, but fraying at the edges every time Haru tried to grasp it firmly. She had managed to use her probability and luck to force Rei and Reina back into the world of the living, but she had a feeling that, had she still been on earth, it would not have been as large as a struggle as she now felt it being. Haru was more conscious that her quirk now felt like a burden rather than an extension, a weight she had to carry responsibly instead of something she summoned with barely a thought. It made her think about her every move, making her more conscious of her being in this undead world.

It mattered little. Slowly but surely, Rei began to surpass every expectation, even those that had been placed upon Haru's shoulders. She had been accepted to U.A., something that Haru had celebrated and prattled on about to Nana as soon as she watched it happen, so excited and proud at her friend. Rei had come so far, fulfilling Haru's dream of becoming a hero.

Now, she was making it her own.

Rei was finally standing on her own two feet. It was as though the training wheels had finally been taken off the bicycle, teetering precariously every so often but managing to balance herself out in the end. Sooner than later, she wouldn't need Haru's watchful eye anymore.

* * *

She continued to watch on anyway.

It was a good thing she did.

Not one week into Rei's first school year at U.A., the villains had rained chaos down on Class 1-A during what was supposed to be a practice in rescue training.

Ironic, that Haru ended up being the one doing the rescuing.

The moment that Rei had been tossed into the lake Haru's heart froze. With every passing moment that the golden eyed girl was unable to rise, Haru's hopes began to sink. For years she had been doing so well. Then the inevitable had happened; Rei's soul had arisen from the portal into the real world, partially passing into the land of the dead before hovering on the border as always, the scarlet ribbon fluttering in an invisible wind with vibrance that made Haru's heart heavy in her chest. With a sigh Haru had stood up from the dock, standing at the edge and looking up at her friend's figure as she appeared in a sleep-like state.

She was meters away, almost within reach. For a moment Haru simply stared up. It had been years since Rei had appeared before Haru like this, and though it was something that she had prayed would never happen again, Haru couldn't help but feel a bit warm at the familiarity of the situation. In this place Rei was both so close, yet so far. Without her fully realizing it, Haru's hand had subconsciously began drifting up, as though reaching for her friend.

_Haru, have you finally come to take me too?_

Hearing Rei's voice loud and clear for the first time in years had Haru jolting back into reality, pulling her hand back in shock and shame. No, she couldn't be selfish. Rei had to return. But her eyes remained trained on Rei's figure. Suddenly, she gasped in shock.

It was so slight, she had almost missed it. Rei's eyes were half lidded, half open in a dreamlike state. Haru was convinced that she had been hallucinating it for a moment, so entranced and shocked at the situation that she imagined that she was overthinking things.

But for a long moment, golden irises blearily stared back into Haru's blue.

Hands shaking, Haru slowly began to push Rei back into the portal. She had heard Rei's voice, speaking to her. After all these years of remaining and working in silence, she couldn't help but reply as she pushed Rei's body back into the other realm.

_Rei, wake up._

As her quirk began to work her magic Rei's eyes fully closed once again as her spirit fell back into the real world, merging just in time with her body as a red haired boy pulled her to the surface. Alive. She was alive once more.

Haru simply stared.

In all the years that had passed, Rei had never been able to actually see Haru. Perhaps she was overthinking things, and that Rei was simply dreaming. But she couldn't shake the feeling that Rei had truly seen her in that liminal space, golden eyes peering into the intermediary zone between life and death. From what Haru could remember, no one had ever really done such a thing. Was this another side effect of her quirk?

For the first time in years, Haru felt unsettled. It was why she renewed her vigor in watching over Rei as the weeks passed by, her eyes scrutinizing the scenes before her as her mind ran on overload. What did this mean? What could anything mean? There was too much going on, with no sign of answers any time soon. So instead Haru returned to watching, waiting for any signs that she could glean.

She had quickly become furious with herself. It quickly became apparent that Rei had not moved on as much as Haru had convinced herself that she had. She was foolish for speaking out to Rei, revealing herself once more. Immediately after returning to life after school, the black haired girl made her way to bridge over a river, stepping up to the ledge. Haru couldn't help it; she had screamed at Rei, yelling as loud as she could for her to stop, to turn back.

She hadn't been protecting her all this time for Rei to return to her bad habits and fixes.

Haru was furious that her best friend would throw everything away for a dream she couldn't ever catch.

But a hand caught her before she could take the fall. Black hair and silver eyes appeared in the scene, reminiscent of Nana Shimura herself. Haru breathed a sigh of relief, no matter how angry Rei had seemed at first. A blessing, a miracle that Haru hadn't even had to conjure on her own. She found herself cheering for this Yaoyorozu, who fearlessly burst past Rei's walls.

Another person to add to Rei's arsenal.

Another person to tether her to the real world, to keep her grounded.

This time, there was no bitterness, no jealousy. The only thing that Haru felt was confidence, for the first time that she could remember in this space inbetween. Confidence that Rei would find her way.

* * *

"_Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as separation" _

_-Rumi_

* * *

The days and weeks began to pass, and Haru watched with pride and Rei began to slowly grow stronger and stronger. Not just physically, but her connections with her classmates were beginning to manifest, small tethers that could be easily broken, but slowly grew in tenacity and strength with each passing day and interaction. She became more open, breaking through her shell in pieces on her own volition while a few others worked to crack her open from the outside, carefully, but intentionally.

Haru was thankful for Class 1-A. They had begun to form a support system for the still living girl, a web of connections that believed in one another and had begun to move cohesively as a unit, trusting one another's judgements as they met each task to the best of their ability. It was then that Rei began to stand out as a stellar tactician and planner, as well as a flexible and creative mind that relished in outwitting her opponents instead of strictly relying on her quirk to punch her way through her missions. Everyone else was beginning to see it too.

But more than that, some people were beginning to draw closer and closer to Haru's core, like moths to a flame.

Yaoyorozu had truly been the first to break through. But Haru watched with joy and amusement as a particularly moody boy began to begrudgingly share space with Rei. The two of them ruffled one another's feathers, neither willing to tolerate the other's bullshit. They were more similar than they realized, and as Haru watched them orbit one another like comets around a planet's gravitational pull she felt her heart both soften and leap in excitement.

They melded together like pieces of a puzzle. No one was ever perfect, but Haru had never been more convinced that two people could work together as well as they did.

But hero training was dangerous. The USJ incident was proof, and as time progressed more and more tribulations began to fill Haru's chest with concern. It was one thing for a sudden villain attack to happen, where Rei had actually been killed and revived, but when the sports festival came Haru was reminded once again how dangerous quirks could be.

When Rei had fallen and impaled herself on an ice spear, Haru had quite literally gasped.

It was a sports festival. Wasn't it supposed to be a little less high risk? But nonetheless the accident had happened, and Haru had reached out with shaky hands to push Rei back into the real world.

So shaken and angry, she hadn't realized at first that she had begun to talk with Rei.

"This is the second time you didn't try to come here."

… _Haru? _

Haru smiled, exhaling sharply through her nose as she looked up to Rei's body as it lingered in between the two worlds. She couldn't help it, not this time. She had to speak her mind. She only hoped that Rei was strong enough to not be tempted by death again.

"Still, I'm proud of you." She frowned, looking away for a moment down at the water in thought. "Though, I didn't realize it'd be this dangerous to become a hero."

_Haru, wait._

The smile returned, though more wistful this time as she looked up to Rei. She was still floating with her eyes closed, looking like she was in a dreaming state. "I'll always wait for you, Rei. But you shouldn't be here. Not yet."

_There's so much I want to tell you._

"You have to go back, Rei."

_Haru, I don't know what to do._

"You'd better hurry, otherwise you'll get stuck here too."

This time, Rei's voice was much softer, as though uncertain that Haru could actually hear her. The doubt and self consciousness returned, making her look even smaller as she huddled in a ball. _I don't know what to do._

But Haru was on a rant, shaking her head. "And stop coming to this place, okay? You make me worried every time…"

_Haru, what should I do?_

She wasn't sure that she could provide an answer. With a sigh, she lifted her hand, preparing to shove Rei back through the portal and into the real world. The ice was melting, and the paramedics were walking toward the scene. "I miss you, okay?"

_I miss you too. Every day._

Smiling at the sentiment, Haru began slowly pushing Rei back. "I believe in you. It's not just our dream anymore, right?"

Referencing their dreams of becoming a hero, even Rei cracked a smile in this timeless space. _Yeah. I've got that much figured out. _

"That's right. Just keep taking steps forward. It doesn't matter how big or small."

_Right. Because-_

"It's not just our dream anymore."

_It's mine._

Satisfied with Rei's answer, she gave one final push to nudge the black haired girl back into the real world, her spirit falling back down into her body and arriving not a moment too soon. Her chest began to rise and fall just as the paramedics reached her, loading her onto a stretcher and carrying her away without much question. As far as they knew, she had simply passed out from blood loss and pain. Only Haru and Rei knew the truth, and as Haru clasped her hands behind the back and watched the scene moved on she mused on Rei's mental state.

She was growing stronger. Not a few weeks prior she had been ready to give in once again, to give up all the progress she had made over the years in order to achieve her dreams. Now here she was, ready to move on, already growing up in a few weeks. Part of Haru wondered what had been the reason for such a drastic change, but the other part of her already knew.

It was the friendship and camaraderie that she had found.

* * *

The rapid developments that had gone for the better was enough for Haru to turn a blind eye to all the strife, all the attacks and harrowing events and villain attacks that had came. Rei was steadily proving herself to be stronger and stronger as the days grew, leaving Haru with little but a sense of peace in her chest. Things were changing for the better.

Then the villains attacked the training camp, and everything shattered into pieces.

It was a testament to how brittle and tentative peace really was. In a matter of minutes mayhem had descended onto the training camp, and Haru could only wait with bated breath to see the outcome. The moment that Rei had been captured and dissolved into a marble Haru had felt her stomach drop, even as she watched Rei's classmates strive to get her and the other two boys back.

In the end, it hadn't been enough.

Never before had Haru wanted so desperately to jump back into the world of the living and rein chaos down upon the villain's heads. But she had to sit back and watch as Rei was cycled through trial after trial, held captive in that pitch black room with fear cementing her to her seat.

Rei had held together for this long. And now, it was Haru's turn to support her.

She knew that something was different the moment that Rei's body had hit the ground one final time. Her spirit had ejected almost too quickly, more unnaturally than usual, flying into Haru's realm and hovering in the air for a moment. Watching with her breath stuck in her chest, Haru watched as Rei slowly began to descend into the water.

No, not the water. If Rei was caught in that current, then she would be washed upon the shores of the afterlife and would have no chance of returning. Haru stood up so quickly she tripped over herself, running to the edge of the dock and screaming out toward her friend in desperation.

"Rei!"

Golden eyes fluttered open, slowly gathering her wits about her before taking in the new scene. Her mouth hung open, agape at the sight of Haru. But there was no time to waste, and Haru stuck her hand out further in an attempt to get the black haired girl to move faster. She couldn't sink into the water, otherwise she would get sucked in by the tide and taken into the realm of the dead, her ribbon severing. And no matter how thick her ribbon may have been, it wouldn't mean anything against the final severing.

Haru couldn't let that happen.

"Rei! Take my hand!"

Speaking for a second time seemed to snap Rei out of her stupor, hand reaching out and grasping Haru's own firmly as the blonde pulled as hard as she could, yanking Rei up onto the pier along with her. She landed on the hard ground and stumbled once, though Haru stabilized her with two hands. Once she was standing on her own two feet and was sure of herself she looked around in confusion and wonder, taking everything in before her eyes rested on Haru once again.

A bit sheepish, Haru smiled. "Hey, Rei."

* * *

AN: Oh, look! It's essentially a double update!

I want to thank all of you who have been so loyal to this story so far. Thank you so much for your reviews and your love of this monstrosity I have created. It means so much to me!

So, I realize this chapter probably leaves more questions than answers, so I will try to answer them now:

**Yes, Rei has died. But there's a bit more to it than you might think.**

Rei has died on multiple occasions (she actually died at USJ and at Hosu City), but in a way it's her quirk that keeps her alive in addition to her will to live. Later on it becomes Haru's role to guide Rei's soul back into the world. It's a play on the concept of the shooting star and luck in a way, that even in the afterlife Haru gets to decide the chances that someone ends up dying or not.

I actually wrote Haru's chapter back when this story was closer to about 200,000 words, so this chapter has been a long time in the making! I hope you all enjoy it.

If you have any questions I'm more than happy to try and answer them. But otherwise, don't think too hard about it! Think of it as Rei's quirk usually keeping her alive and from the brink of death, and Haru is her guardian angel.

**Review time!**

**bearcatmedia**: Thank you! I do try sometimes hahaha

**dragontamer64**: Haha I almost felt bad with how much of a cliffhanger that was! I usually don't like to write cliffhangers (I'm scared that I'll write a cliffhanger and then never come back from it), but I also felt that it was an appropriate ending point. I hope this chapter creates more questions and curiosities that I will be answering soon as well!

**voidmarijo**: The thought of having AfO stealing Rei's quirk crossed my mind, but I think that it would be more "him" so to speak if he tried to convince her to come to his side. Idk, I'm not like super engrossed in BNHA stuff, and I don't claim to know a super lot about All For One, but I thought him stealing Rei's quirk would be predictable. Also... I'm lazy and I wouldn't know where to take the story from there hahahahaha

**TheBlackDagger456**: I will definitely be having Rei's friends helping her out after this! That's partially why I wanted the story to start taking this turn; I want more opportunities for Rei to grow closer with her friends. Thanks for the review!

**yaoi4adollar**: I hope this update delivers! Thanks so much for the constant reviews!

**akagami hime chan**: There will be plenty of fluffy stuff coming up sooner than later! Please look forward to Rei and Bakugou being adorable humans in the future!

**ILikeFoxes828**: Thank you for leaving a review! I always appreciate them, no matter the length! I hope you will continue to enjoy future chapters as well.


	32. Medial

Chapter 32

Medial

* * *

"Hey, Rei."

Impossible.

"I-what-Haru-" Rei sputtered, unable to comprehend what was going on. In one moment she had been in a dark, cold, room, trapped with one of the most powerful villains she had ever encountered. In the next she was convinced that she had met the end, sailing through the air with a broken body and a broken spirit. Instead she found herself in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by a placid sea of blue waters and sky in every direction.

Haru lifted a hand to cover her mouth, muffling her laughter as she watched Rei's reactions. It was clear she was trying to hide her amusement behind her hand, but blue eyes sparkled brilliantly anyway, revealing her revelry. For a moment longer Rei stared with her mouth hanging open at the girl, unable to believe her eyes.

"Haru, are you really…?"

"It's me."

Silence. Rei's fingers twitched.

Then she couldn't hold back any longer. Rushing to close the space between them, Rei wrapped her arms around her friend, squeezing the air out of her lungs and holding on to her desperately, hands grasping fistfuls of her black school jacket. Golden eyes blinked as the tears threatened to fall, uncaring if they actually rolled down her cheeks. Catharsis, release, and a sigh as she relaxed. A pair of slender arms wrapped around her own back, and Rei dug her face into Haru's shoulder.

"Haru…"

"You're safe. At least for now."

The tears fell. Two large drops ran down her cheek a short distance before they were absorbed into Haru's jacket. Eventually she pulled back, the two friends moving their hands to hold on to one another as they looked at the other's face. Haru was smiling gently, tears on her own face threatening to fall as she watched Rei.

"Where are we?"

At this Haru grew still, turning away for a moment to look around them, as though taking in the scenery for herself. "This… is what we call the waiting room."

Rei frowned, eyebrows scrunching together. "The waiting room?"

Blue eyes returned to her face, a sympathetic smile gracing her lips. "I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?" Gesturing for the two of them to sit, the two friends made their way down to sit on the smooth wooden dock, crossing their legs like pretzels as they faced one another. Rei had a clear shot of the rest of the dock, though she still couldn't see an ending no matter how much she tried, her back to the water's edge. It seemed unnatural, something in her gut unsettled as she looked around.

Haru at least seemed rather comfortable in this place, though she did look around strangely as well. "Tell me," she began. "What do you see?"

"What do I see?" It was an odd question, but Rei acquiesced as golden eyes roamed the space. "Blue skies, blue waters, as far as the eye can see. This dock stretches behind you, but I can't see where it ends."

"And nothing more?"

An eyebrow raised, Rei spoke slowly, as though uncertain. "No. Should there be?"

Her friend hesitated long enough to let her know that something was wrong. "It's strange," Haru began, seeming to ignore Rei's question, "that we should see different things. But I suppose that it makes sense, given the circumstances."

"Haru, what do you see?"

"Truly?" She swallowed, eyes looking up and behind Rei's head. "It's hard to describe. When I first saw this place, I didn't have any words. I think it's better that I explain things first before I tell you what I see."

"Tell me, then. You said this is the waiting room."

Nodding her head, Haru's face turned serious. "Yes. A name that we've unofficially given the place, seeing as there's no official name. Others have called it purgatory, or the final world, or the world in between."

_Purgatory._ To Rei's surprise, her first reaction was horror, sheer disbelief that it had actually happened. She had thought it impossible for so long. Yet, wasn't that the only explanation for why she was seeing Haru before her?

"Then, that means… I…"

Golden tresses shook as Haru shook her head from side to side. "Not exactly. Tell me," She leaned forward, interested to hear Rei's answer, "do you feel anything on your neck?"

"My neck?" Tentatively she lifted her fingers up, surprised when her fingers brushed against something with a silken texture. It was then that she saw it, like an apparition manifesting out of nowhere. A red ribbon floated into her vision, looping and tying around her neck as it hovered in the air, rippling in an unseen current in front of her. She turned in her seat, trying to figure out where it extended, turning to look behind her and freezing when she found a source.

There, about ten feet above her head, was a window with a familiar scene. She could see her body lying about in the rubble of Hosu City, nearly crushed beneath a few pieces. It looked as though she had been tossed like a ragdoll, the position unearthly and rather sickening. Still, she could definitely see the red string around her neck entering the picture and tied on the other end to Rei's unconscious body.

"I see it." Turning back around to Haru, she could see the surprise on her friend's face at her words. That made two of them, with the new revelations coming in hot. "A red scarf, it's around my neck and going back to my body. There's a…" she turned around quickly, as though in disbelief at what she saw, but the window into the real world was still there, "a window? I see my body. And, the city…"

"Interesting." Haru was sitting straight up, her back ramrod straight. "So you can see the portals."

"That's a portal?"

Nodding in assent, Haru gestured behind Rei toward the aforementioned portals. "Like I said, this is a sort of world in between. That portal and that ribbon around your neck is what's keeping you alive in the real world. As long as that ribbon remains intact, you won't be able to pass into the afterlife."

It was news to Rei, but there was no reason to doubt Haru's words even if it was hard to believe. In fact it was the only thing that was making sense, and Rei nodded slowly. "So, I'm still alive."

"Yes." Haru's face became stern, a dark look washing over her. "Right now, your body is in shock. You're on death's door, so to speak. Back in the real world, you're in a coma."

A shudder ran down Rei's spine, and she wrapped her arms around herself. "Are… you going to send me back?"

She was relieved when Haru slowly shook her head, blue eyes soft. "No. Normally, I would. It's dangerous for you to linger here too long, lest you get too adjusted and end up passing away for real. But it's even more dangerous if you return to your body now. Your mind would break from the pain, and you wouldn't be you any more."

"My mind?"

"But you're safe here. I'm not sending you back until I know that you'll be safe and you still."

Slowly, it was beginning to make sense. Realization dawned in Rei's mind, and her face lit up. "All this time, every time I've died, it was you who sent me back, wasn't it?"

"Yes. Ever since that day, I've been waiting here in this room. Every time you died, I pushed you back through the portal. Your quirk kept you from immediately passing, but you always lingered on the border."

"My quirk…" The reminder of her quirk made her face drop, crestfallen. "Regeneration. So… does that mean that I'll eventually die?"

Much to her surprise Haru nodded again, unphased at Rei's realization. "Do you see how thick your red ribbon is?" Raising a hand to her own neck, another ribbon manifested in Rei's vision as Haru clasped onto the strand that extended from the loop around her slender neck. Unlike Rei's own ribbon, Haru's looked more like a string or a cord, slender in nature enough so that it could probably be cut with shears or a knife. "Most people's ribbons look like mine. They sever easily when they die. But yours is thick, as a result of your quirk. That's why you haven't been able to die yet."

"But I will, someday."

Hesitantly, Haru nodded. "Yes. Each time that you die, your ribbon becomes thinner and thinner. Not by much, but over the years I've seen it. You can't afford to be reckless."

Golden eyes dropped to her lap, turned downward at the reminder of death. "If I go back."

"You must go back eventually. Otherwise, you'll die here."

"But what do I do?!" Rei's temper began to burst, the tears returning to her eyes. "I can't do this. I can't face him. That man... is horrifying. I can't escape him." A tear fell down her cheek, Rei hastily raising a hand to wipe it away. "Even if I am rescued, if All For One is taken down, I'll never escape. That room…" She couldn't continue.

Haru lifted herself from her seat, moving over to Rei's side and sitting down next to her. Pulling her friend into a hug, she held Rei in her arms, offering solace and comfort as best as she could. "Don't think like that. You fight it. I know you can fight it. You'll find a way to move on."

"How?" Nose running, she sniffled, shaking her head. "There is no other way."

"In this moment, right here, have you been captured? When you look at that portal, do you see All For One's hands wrapped around your neck?"

"What?" Raising her head tentatively, she looked at Haru in confusion. It was an odd question. She looked back at the portal, just to be sure that her body was still lying limp on the ground. No one was near her. No heroes, but no villains. "No."

"The future is the future, unknown because it is malleable and changing. Nothing is set in motion until the present moment, where we decided what to do with our time." Haru's eyes were hard, determined to make Rei see her point. "The only time when fate is set is when you resign yourself to whatever comes your way. Then, and only then, will you be consumed by it."

Shaking her head slowly, Rei's brows furrowed. "I… I don't understand."

"Yes, you do," Haru insisted. "You know what I'm talking about."

"But what if I fail? Even if it isn't now, but later?"

Haru grinned, clearly recalling a certain memory as her shoulders shook in amusement. "I once met someone in this place. He had an affinity for English literature. One of his favorite quotes was, 'then we fail! But screw your courage to the sticking place, and we'll not fail.'" Giving Rei a meaningful look, she raised an eyebrow. "Do you see?"

"I see. I hear. And yet, the only thing I feel is pain and agony."

"You've always known that it won't be easy."

Rei finally raised her head up to meet Haru's gaze fully, a small smile on her lips. "But you'll always be with me, right?"

Haru's lips parted in surprise as Rei finished her thought, before she smiled warmly, nodding her head. "Right."

Looking about the space another time and lifting her head, Rei heaved a sigh. The talk had been heavy, the situation even more dire. But perhaps here she could catch her breath, could find the strength to go on.

There was no better company than in that of her first and best friend.

"I need time. Time to think."

"There's no better time than the present." Haru gestured to the portal behind Rei with a hand. "I'll keep tabs on the real world. I can see everything from here. When it's time to go, I'll let you know."

Nodding, Rei rolled her shoulders back before heaving a sigh, slumping backward to lie on the dock. Casting her eyes skyward, she watched as puffy white clouds high above her rolled lazily in the grand azure stretch. "So, tell me about this place. Tell me what I've missed."

* * *

Finding Akatsuki in the abandoned warehouse had been a stroke of luck. No one had been certain of her whereabouts when the two strike locations had been established, nor had they any hopes that she would be in either place. But fate had been fortunate that night in that, in a moment of hope, they had found her lying on the cold cement floor of that unfortunate warehouse.

But holding on to her was like holding onto a handful of sand, and she slid from their fingertips.

It wasn't as though it was her fault. Akatsuki had wanted to be found, that much was certain. But luck could be a fickle thing, playing in one's favor in one moment and twisted around the next.

After the explosion that had revealed All Might's true identity, Rei was nowhere to be found once more.

It took hours to recover her body. Once the fight had finished, emergency workers dove back onto the scene, scouring for bodies both alive and passed on. Someone had to do it. It was dirty work, but it was necessary. Time was not on their side either. With every passing minute, another person surely passed along, suffocated under rubble or from grave injuries.

How cruel the world was, even without the villains to muddy everything!

It had been an emergency worker that had found her, as they scoured an area that had been previously cleared out one last time. They had spotted a tuft of black hair and a torn gray hoodie splattered with blood. Calling out to their comrades, they immediately brought in the reinforcements one last time to the area, evoking another sweep through the area that was thought to be clear.

In the end, it was only her that was found. But how lucky she had been, one final time.

Or perhaps unlucky. The damage her body sustained had been tremendous. Even the emergency workers were skeptical as they loaded her body onto a gurney and raced her away, cautiously but speedily back toward a vehicle. Of all the civilian casualties, this had to be one of the worst. But it was a police officer that had recognized the young girl, immediately calling out that Akatsuki Rei had been successfully found and retrieved. The workers hurried even faster.

This was one of the young, unfortunate, victims of the U.A. training incident, and they would be damned if anything else happened to her.

The emergency vehicle reared its head, sirens blazing as it swept through the battle torn streets, the workers keeping a steady but swift pace in the back as they fought hard to keep their patient alive. She was breathing, but barely. Her heartbeat was weak, so much so that it nearly felt as though it would give out at any second. Needles in place in her arms and various tubes snaking around her body, she looked terrifyingly small underneath it all, almost more machine than human at this point.

But as they fought, they began to realize that she was not giving in either. Her heart continued to beat, her breathing scraggy and straggling but constant.

She had to live.

She had the will to live.

If she was fighting this hard, whether she realized it or not, then they would see to it that she had all the tools to survive. They would be with her every step of the way.

She would live.

Only time would tell what would happen after that.

* * *

"So tell me about U.A.."

Haru had poured out everything that she could about her time in the middle ground, or the waiting room as she called it. And Rei had listened. Eagerly. It was so strange to consider the fact that an afterlife existed. Of course, it was something that occasionally came to mind at random intervals and on the most random occasions, but it wasn't something that someone was constantly thinking about.

Well, unless they were into that sort of thing. But that wasn't Rei.

Finally, the conversation had turned. Rei looked over at Haru in surprise. "I'm sure you've seen everything," she sheepishly murmured. Now that she knew that Haru could see her and everything she did, she was vaguely mortified, though her friend assured her that she had given her as much privacy as possible. It wasn't as though Haru was preoccupied with watching Rei every second of her life.

Haru only shook her head, a smile on her face. "I'm not some all seeing god, Rei. C'mon, what's it like?"

Her excitement was childish, as Haru sat up straighter with attention, her eyes sparkling in a fangirl sort of way. It was true; their childhood dream had been to become heroes. Now Haru was living vicariously through Rei, in a way.

Heaving a sigh, Rei caved. "It's tough. But it's…"

"Incredible? Fantastic? Utterly indescribable?"

Rei laughed. "Yeah."

"Aw, don't be so predictable! Tell me, what are the teachers like?"

"Like Aizawa-sensei? He's very dry and clear cut when it comes to tests and things like that, and he's hard on us. But that's U.A., isn't it? The toughest hero school on this side of Japan."

"Tell me more!"

"Hmm." Rei lifted a hand to her chin as she looked to the sky, her eyes glazing over a bit as she tried to think of how to describe their teachers. "Present Mic is very… enthusiastic. I still don't think I've really gotten used to how eccentric he can be at times. He likes calling on people randomly and catching them off guard if he thinks they're drifting off." A memory popped up into mind. "Poor Uraraka and Ashido have gotten the short end some times."

"Uraraka?"

Rei beamed at the mention of her friend. "The gravity girl. Brown short hair?"

"Oh, right!" Haru sat up on her hands, propping herself up even further. "And there's another girl, Yaoyorozu, right?"

"Yeah." Rei smiled fondly. "She's… a good friend."

"I'm glad."

Haru gathered her knees close to her chest, rocking back and forth slightly before placing her chin on her knees. "You know, I was kind of jealous at first."

"Jealous?"

"Mm." Eyes as blue as the sky softened a bit, as though recalling a particularly amusing memory. "After all this time, you had finally found a friend. I felt like I was being replaced."

"Haru…"

"But that's silly, isn't it?" Haru laughed, but it sounded slightly forced. "I'm dead. It doesn't matter."

Rei frowned for a moment before her face smoothed out. "Haru." Placing a hand over her heart, Rei shook her head, black tresses shifting around her face. "You don't have to worry about that. You'll never be replaced. You can't have a limit on the number of friends you have, right? It's not like others have to get kicked out because of some quota. So, you'll always be in my heart. Yaoyorozu isn't competition."

Silence. Haru stared agape at Rei, who realized that she had suddenly gotten rather deep. Her cheeks flushed pink, golden eyes averting. "S-sorry! I mean, I didn't need to get that deep…"

"Rei-chan, you're so wise now! Is that because of U.A.?"

Grinning, Rei shot back. "Stupid. I've always been this smart."

The two tossed their heads back and laughed. They laughed at their silliness, their naiveity, their wisdom that was all too mature for their age. They laughed together, for the first time in years, and for a moment they could forget where they were. For a moment, they were just two friends back in middle school, sharing a joke with one another once again.

But the moment faded as Rei took in the sight. Haru no longer looked like a child, her hair longer and her chin more structured. Rei's own hair was longer, black locks a few inches long now that she had forgone cutting it for a few months. She herself was more muscular from training, more lean and lithe and athletic.

The times had changed them, perhaps for the better.

"And the boy? Bakugou?"

Rei froze at the mention of his name. Looking out to the crystal blue waters, she stared off for a moment in contemplation. Where was he? Was he safe?

"Rei?" Haru smiled gently. "What is he to you?"

"He's…" Swallowing hard, she tried to play things cool. "A friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah."

"Would you say a dear friend?"

"... Sure."

"A very dear friend that… you find attractive?"

Jaw dropping, Rei stared at her friend's forwardness. "Haru!"

The other girl laughed again, tossing her head back for a moment before looking back at Rei, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief. "C'mon, I might not stalk you every waking moment, but I'm not blind. You like him."

"Y-yeah."

"And he likes you?"

"For some reason, yeah."

Haru cooed. "Ah, young love."

"I don't-"

"It's fine. You don't have to say it. But you like him, right?"

Rei scowled. "I don't like this conversation."

"If you can't have this conversation with someone, how will you know you're ready?"

The thought gave Rei pause to think. Somehow, amidst the teasing, Haru was talking sense. Rei had always shied away from relationships, all while staring on in secret longing. She had always been slightly jealous of relationships that her classmates had shared in middle school, no matter how much her logical mind had rationalized that they were surface, base, and most likely not going to last beyond their youth. She had determined that, if a relationship was to last, it would need to be built on communication and trust, not just social status in one's school and the opinions of others.

But if she couldn't even talk about a relationship with someone, then how could she ever have one? Hadn't she just considered the fact that relationships were built on communication? It was true, even though it was painful; she had to be able to talk with someone about it. At least with Haru, she wouldn't tell anyone. Yaoyorozu was another option, but not here in this moment. And Reina… well, the thought of discussion her love life with Reina was both intimidating and terrifying.

Grinning slyly, Rei chortled. "Oh, look who's talking sense now."

"Of course I am! One of us has to be sensible."

"Weren't you just commenting on how wise I was a few minutes ago?"

"I'll concede that you have your moments."

"Hey!"

The two laughed again, although it was shorter this time. There was no distracting Haru from the topic at hand this time, no matter how much time Rei sought to buy. "So," the blonde continued, "where do you see yourself in the future? Is there a future with him?"

To be honest, it was something that Rei had already considered. The truth? "I don't know," she admitted honestly. "I think I'm too young to be thinking that far ahead."

"Aww, come on…"

"But," Rei added, "it has crossed my mind. And… I don't think I'd mind a future where he's in it."

"Really?"

"I'm not saying that I'm thinking we're gonna get married and have two and a half kids and live happily ever after." Rei snorted in amusement as Haru's face sank. Ever the dreamer. "I don't think that'd be possible, because my first goal is to be a hero. I don't have time for that."

"But with you as a hero, what do you see then?"

Rei smiled. "Hopefully? Him at my side. Whether he's a comrade, a friend, or something more, I hope we'll at least stand together."

"Would you really be happy with him as just being a friend?"

"Yes."

"... Really?"

"Is it really so wrong to hope for that? Bakugou is…" How did she want to put it? "Incredibly sensitive and caring when he wants to be. He's proven that he's a good friend, first and foremost. And I hope that'll stay the same, no matter what the future brings."

"Is that why you didn't want to say anything to him for so long?"

"Yeah."

It was true. She hadn't wanted to spoil their friendship. She barely had any friends in the first place, and no matter how much she identified as and embraced the title of loner in school, she couldn't deny that she craved friendship. It had started with Yaoyorozu worming her way into Rei's dark heart. Then Midoriya. Then Uraraka. And then, out of left field, an explosive boy with a shitty personality that was hauntingly similar to her own had suddenly appeared in her life as well.

They were so similar. Kindred souls. If she lost that relationship, she would be heartbroken. Looking up to Haru, she nonverbally begged for her friend to understand. "You get it, right?"

Blue eyes twinkled back. "I know."

Rei breathed a sigh of relief.

Her breath hitched.

There was a stinging sensation in her chest.

Raising a hand to her heart, she winced at the pain. It was ghost-like, yet still tangible. Haru looked on in concern, leaning forward toward her friend. "What's wrong?"

Rei grimaced, shaking her head. "It's strange. It's like something's pinching my bones in my chest."

Haru raised her eyes toward the portal, realization flooding them along with relief as she looked on. "You're in a hospital now. It looks like they're performing surgery."

"Surgery?"

Nodding, Haru continued. "You're probably feeling the pain of your bones being shifted around." Haru glanced over at her friend as Rei shuddered at that comment. "Ah, sorry. That's probably pretty gross."

"No, it's just… Actually, yeah. That is gross."

"Sorry."

"No, it's fine." Refusing to look at the portal now that she knew what was happening, Rei lifted a hand to play with the red ribbon around her neck. "So, I'm still alive."

"And kicking."

"So, I'll have to go back soon?"

"Yes. Do you want to go back? Not now," Haru amended, "but when it's time?"

Before, she hadn't been certain. Rei had been ready to accept death. But now that things were looking up, now that she was reminded of everything that she wanted to fight for…

Rei nodded. "Yeah. I can't back down now, can I?"

* * *

When the phone rang again, Aizawa's number lighting up the screen, Reina hadn't known how to respond.

She hesitated, even if she knew that answering the phone was the only way to find out about Rei.

Reina had watched every moment of the Hosu City incident, as everyone was now calling it, from the moment it broke on the news. She hadn't been getting much sleep anyway, so distraught and caught up in her emotions that it was making it difficult to even fall asleep, let alone stay asleep. Sitting in bed with her phone plugged in next to her, she and Hotaru had snuggled next to one another, the latter shooting concerned looks at her partner.

Somehow, Reina knew that the Hosu City incident had something to do with U.A. and the training camp incident. There was no mistaking it. Even if she didn't know the details, she had watched the press conference on the television. There had to be a plan, but Reina hadn't realized that the plan was going to be executed so swiftly.

All Might had fought with that villain, his true self revealed to the world. She had been shocked, just as much as anyone else, to see the number one hero in such a state. But even so, he had come out on top, one final time, raising his clenched fist into the air in triumph.

Day had broken. She had gotten perhaps a few spotty hours of sleep.

And then, the phone call came.

Her hand immediately flew to the phone, but her thumb refused to slide along the glassy surface to receive the incoming call. Hotaru's iridescent eyes watched in concern, her hand rubbing Reina's arm in a soothing gesture. The line rang three more times before Reina steeled herself, swiping the phone without any further delay and lifting the line to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Fujiwara-san." The greeting was curt and short, slightly exhausted but lacking regret.

"Akatsuki-san has been found."

Reina sucked in a sharp breath, even if she knew that this was the reason for the phone call. She had known, from the moment her phone lit up. But now…

"And?"

"And… she is alive."

Alive. It was a relief to hear, but not enough. Alive at least meant that she wasn't dead, but that description alone left things to be desired. Alive? Was she safe? Was she in danger still? Was she hurt?

Before Reina could ask any more questions, Aizawa began giving directions to a hospital in Hosu, just on the outskirts. He finished by stating that he would send her the proper credentials so that she would be given access, since security in the area was tight, and that he would meet her there. Before she knew it, the phone call was over, the screen dimming to black in her hands.

Hotaru squeezed her arm, looking up at Reina in concern. "Sweetheart…?"

Reina turned to look at Hotaru, determination and distress fighting for dominance in her eyes. She had to be strong now. The worst of it was soon to be over, though the fight would continue.

"She's in a hospital in Hosu."

"Then let's go."

* * *

By the time Reina and Hotaru had boarded the train, the exhaustion was just beginning to sink in. Perhaps it was because of the reassurance that Rei was found and alive that Reina's guard was finally beginning to let down. But her chest still clenched everytime she thought of Aizawa's words.

What did it mean that Rei was simply "alive?" What condition had she been found in?

Thankfully Hotaru had found a coffee machine and had bought drinks for the two of them, the strongest espresso that an automated machine had to offer. The two of them nursed their drinks slowly, trying to make the most of the caffeine while the train ushered them along to the next few prefectures over.

It was difficult to sit for so long, their legs itching to do something rather than sit still. Their minds both buzzed with anticipation, with nerves and anxiety.

The time managed to pass in a blur. It wasn't long before Reina and Hotaru found themselves being ushered into a hospital, a strange figure standing in the waiting room. Upon their arrival the figure turned toward them, a glint in their steely eyes.

"Fujiwara-san, I presume?"

Reina nearly asked who the man was, but the voice was unmistakable, along with the memory of Rei's description of her homeroom teacher. _A man who looked perpetually exhausted, dressed in black with messy black curls of his own, and a look that could both be mistaken for sleep when he really wanted to murder you where you stood._

"Aizawa-sensei?"

The man nodded curtly, getting straight down to business. "The surgery was successful. She's still out, but seems to be on the mend. There have been a few problems, however." His eyes flickered to Hotaru, hesitant as though he was unsure of what to say.

The look confused Reina, but Hotaru understood. Placing a hand on her girlfriend's arm, Hotaru murmured quietly in the hush of the hospital wing. "I'll wait here for you. You go and see Rei-chan."

Reina muttered her thanks, planting a kiss on Hotaru's cheek before following after Aizawa. The man began to swiftly lead her through the hallways, over to an elevator where they began to ascend through the building.

"The damage to Akatsuki-san's body was severe, but based on her quirk, there shouldn't be anything long lasting," he began once they were ensconced within the elevator alone. "Do you want to know everything in detail, or should I spare you?"

Reina had to appreciate the way he cut to the chase, sparing the formalities. As a business woman, she could respect it. If she were any other, she might have been offended at his brusque approach, but in the moment she wanted things to be as straightforward as possible. She had been in the dark long enough. "I want to know everything. I don't want to be in the dark any longer."

"Very well. Please tell me if it gets to be too much for you." The doors slid open to reveal another hallway, this one even more quiet than the entrance and slightly slower in business as the doctors and nurses walked around at a slightly slower pace than downstairs. Aizawa's voice lowered even further as to not disturb those around them, and to protect their own privacy as well. "The worst of the damage was a fractured spine. There was also a critical blow to her ribcage, where she suffers cracked ribs. She'll be closely monitored for the next few days, even though her quirk should be boosting her healing process."

There was something strange in the way that he said his last sentence, and Reina narrowed her eyes at him. "'Should?' What do you mean?"

Aizawa narrowed his eyes, but kept his gaze forward. "I will be frank. Akatsuki normally heals at an accelerated rate. However, the healing process currently is slower than what we have come to expect. It might be due to the number of injuries, or something that might have happened while she was taken."

Heaving a sigh, Reina tried to steady herself and her breathing. "But she will be alright?"

"Knowing Akatsuki, she will pull through." The two of them halted in front of a door that was partially open, but Aizawa kept them outside. Reina wanted nothing more than to burst through the door to see her little sister, but respected his authority and waited outside with him. "There is another matter we must discuss specifically regarding this fiasco and Akatsuki."

Reina nodded, urging him to continue. He hesitated for a moment before speaking. "From what we understand thus far, Akatsuki was awake briefly during the rescue operation. However, based on our sources, she appeared to be very unstable. It is possible that her mental state could be fragile, even though her body heals."

"Meaning?"

"There might need to be some care regarded Akatsuki's mental health after this. Even if her body heals, she cannot continue the hero program if her mental state fails her as well."

"Are you telling me this as a precaution, or is this something that U.A. has already decided?"

There was no hesitation, as though his response had been prepared for himself already. He dodged the question, instead speaking rather formally. "U.A. has already acknowledged that there could be lasting damage from this mistake that we have made. We are prepared to stand by any decision you make regarding Akatsuki's enrollment."

"What are you trying to say?"

"There is a chance that Akatsuki may no longer be fit for the hero program."

"Then why do you say that it's my decision to pull Akatsuki from U.A.?"

Aizawa's eyes darted up and down the corridor before motioning for Reina to follow him inside the room. Following his movement, Reina kept her eyes trained on the teacher for a moment longer in suspicion before her eyes scoured the room for the one person she wanted to see, had traveled all this way to find.

The gasp left her mouth before she could restrain herself.

The little girl sleeping on the bed in front of her was covered in an assortment of bandages, as well as bruises that peeked out from underneath the white fabric. She looked like she was drowning in the hospital gown and the million blankets that covered her small frame, making her look even smaller than she already was. An oxygen mask covered half her face, while various machines around her beeped away steadily.

She looked fragile, delicate. Nothing like the Rei that Reina knew. Reina stepped forward with an outstretched hand, but thought better of herself and stopped after a moment.

It hurt to see her like this. It hurt more than any emotional pain she had known before. This was her young ward, her little sister in all but blood. Reina had always known that she would not be able to protect Rei from anything, troubled as her childhood had already been, but in the backmost corner of her mind she had imagined that the worst of it was over. Now that she could see the extent of the hero program-no, what the hero program had failed to protect her from-she was overwhelmed.

"I understand that you have been taking care of Akatsuki recently."

"I have." Her voice was weaker than what she had hoped for it to be.

"Then I have no problem telling you of the plans that U.A. has in store going on into the future, while you are here." Aizawa gestured for her to sit down in one of the two chairs near the foot of the hospital bed, taking the other one opposite of her. Now that the both of them were seated, he continued in a hushed voice. "Starting in the next few weeks, U.A. will be converting over to a dormitory system in order to keep a closer watch over the students. Of course, guardians must give permission. Seeing as how you are the closest thing to Akatsuki's guardian, it would make sense that you would have the most sway over things at the moment."

When Reina remained silent, her eyes still on Rei's unconscious figure, Aizawa continued. "You have a decision. You can pull Akatsuki from this program and rehabilitate her. She would most likely make it successfully into another hero program. I heard she was a fine applicant for a few others in the region."

"Does it really matter what I think?" Reina murmured, her arm leaning onto the armrest of the chair as she cupped her chin in her palm. "Rei would never forgive me if I pulled her from U.A.. Neither would I be happy either. U.A. has been her dream since the beginning, much as it pains me to say right now."

"I understand that you are most likely upset with us-"

"I am."

"And we will gladly take the blame for everything that has happened." Aizawa bowed his head in his chair in apology. "We would be sad to see her leave. She has incredible promise."

"I know." Reina smiled wistfully. "She's changed so much over the past few months. I was afraid for her, at first. Then I saw that she was making friends, making connections. She was growing, and happy. Now I'm afraid again." Shaking her head, the smile refused to leave her face, even though her voice turned slightly cynical. "But what choice do I have? Rei would never forgive me if I pulled her out now."

Aizawa nodded. "Understandable. There is, of course, the matter of Rei's mental state."

"And we must simply wait to see how things go?"

"Indeed, though from our initial findings, I would suspect that she will need some kind of therapist."

Reina sat up a little straighter. "I know a person."

"We would be indebted. If they would make Rei feel more comfortable, enough to share, then that would indeed solidify her place at U.A. going into the future."

Chuckling, Reina looked back at the teacher. She could see just how tired he was, not just from the regular grind, but from how much this situation was taking a toll on him. "You really are her teacher, aren't you? You know that she wouldn't share anything with anyone that she didn't trust."

"I am her homeroom teacher. For better or for worse, I have picked up on a few pieces of her character."

The woman snorted in amusement, rolling her eyes. "More like her pigheadedness and inexcrutiable temper at times."

The corner of Aizawa's lip twitched upward for just a moment, so quick it was barely perceptible. "Perhaps."

"So allow me to get things straight." Reina sat up, getting back to business. "We will continue under the assumption that Rei will continue at U.A., given her complete stubbornness to become a hero and her likeliness of overcoming her challenges. After that, she would be living on campus in a dorm system with the other students?"

"Yes. It's a system we've designed to ensure that students will be more secure, especially given the publicity that specifically Class 1-A has faced thus far."

"I can't say no to that." Reina smiled warmly. "I leave Rei in your care."

"I'm surprised."

"And why's that?"

"Of all the guardians I need to convince, I thought you would have put up a bigger fight."

Heaving another sigh, Reina shook her head. "I'm not her legal guardian… yet. I don't get to have much of a say. Regardless, I tend to think more of what she wants and what she wants to get out of her future rather than what I want anyway."

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "One might say you were spoiling her."

"You're damn right." She shook her head again. "Kids. I'd say that they don't know how good they have it, but…" She gestured toward Rei's bed, and Aizawa nodded his head.

"Very well. I believe I've discussed everything with you that you need to know in order to be up to date."

"How long can I stay here?"

"As long as you need."

"Can my partner also get a pass to come up here?"

"I'll get that for you right away."

Reina smiled, sinking back into the chair. The exhaustion was now completely getting to her, the caffeine from the coffee having worn off at this point. "Thank you, Aizawa-sensei. You've been more of a help than we could have ever hoped for."

The man stood from his chair, bowing at the waist formally. "Please return with me to your partner. I'll get you both permanent passes so that you can come up here."

Rising from the chair, Reina walked over to Rei, smoothing her hair back and planting a soft kiss on the girl's forehead. "I'm here, Rei-chan. Take your time resting, okay?"

They would be okay.

The worst of it was over, but the tribulations continued.

* * *

"It's over now. Are you ready to go back?"

"... I think I am. But having to leave you again…"

"I know. It's like being back in old times, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"But those times are gone now."

"I know."

They hadn't moved from their spots. The surgery was over. Rei's physical body was safe.

It was time to say goodbye.

Rei sighed. "This isn't easy."

"Saying goodbye never is. But you know?" Haru smiled as Rei looked over to her in curiosity, tilting her head to the side. "At least this time, we get to say goodbye. So many people in the real world don't get that chance."

Rei smiled to herself before chuckling once more. "Always have something wizened to say, don't you? You tryin' to one up me again?"

"Maybe."

Rei looked Haru up and down one final time, committing every part of her to memory. The wispiness of her golden hair, the way her eyes twinkled when she smiled gently. The strangeness and simplicity of seeing her in a school uniform, as though the two of them were merely separated by different prefectures instead of the barrier between life and death. It was a welcome sight after all these years, all those times when she thought she had hallucinated her deceased best friend. Now she knew. Haru existed still, in the life beyond, watching from beyond.

From the shooting star hero to guardian angel, Haru had always been there.

She had never truly left.

Finally, they stood up, the two of them moving in sync. For a moment they simply stood facing one another, neither willing to make a move. It was Rei who eventually caved, rushing forward once more to embrace her friend in a vice-grip hug. Haru returned the sentiment, squeezing Rei tightly as the duo buried their faces in the other's shoulder.

By the time they parted, minutes had passed. It was time. Rei stepped away, closing her eyes one final time. "You'll be with me." The way she spoke was with finality, no longer a question. She knew that she was no longer alone.

"Always."

"Love you, Haru."

"Love you too, Black Cat."

Rei grinned. "That's not my name anymore"

"Alright then, pro hero: Meishin."

"Until next time."

"Mm. Don't make it too soon."

Keeping her eyes closed, Rei felt the red ribbon tugging her backwards. It was time to return. Relaxing into the pull, she allowed herself to be dragged backwards, as though floating down a lazy river.

"Thank you," she whispered.

She nearly missed the whisper back.

"No, thank _you_, Rei."

* * *

Of all the sensations in the world, Rei had not missed that of returning to her body. It was like her spirit had forgotten what it was like to fit inside a body, and was now trying to pull on a pair of pants that was three sizes too small.

Except, that pair of pants was actually a morph suit, and there were seven people that were forcing her into it.

By the time she felt as though she was finally zipped back into one piece, she couldn't help the groan that came out of her throat. But instead of a groan it was more of a choked squeak, her throat bone dry and forcing out a cough instead. It was a dull, pathetic thing, and there was only more pain that came with it.

Pain, like a fire burning in her chest and her back. It never raised above a sensation of embers or hot coals, neither weak nor searing in agony. Strange, it must have been some hell of pain killers that she was on.

Pain killers.

Pain.

She was back in the real world.

Cracking an eye open, she was temporarily blinded by the buzzing fluorescent lights above her head, making her shut her eyes again from the attempt. But she was adamant, if anything. Slowly but surely she continued to peek from behind her eyelids, pupils slowly adjusting to the light and allowing her to look around and gather her wits about herself.

She was groggy still, and wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but she was curious. It was a rather normal hospital room, save for the fact that she was the only inhabitant. In fact, there was no other bed, indicating that she was intended to be the only occupant of the room. An oxygen mask was still attached to her face, and she was vaguely becoming more and more aware of the various needles that poked at her arms.

Alive. She was alive.

That was all she needed to know.

A nurse rushed into the room with a clipboard, Rei's golden eyes meeting her own for the briefest of moments before closing once more. Yes, she was alive.

Time would heal all else.

She would not die.

Not yet.

* * *

AN: I actually felt really bad because some of you were terribly pissed that I might have killed Rei off permanently from the story, so I'm updating a little early this time! I'm so sorry... TT please forgive me!

But... she's alive... SHE'S ALIIIIIIVE

There will be a small break between this and the next chapter, unless I can motivate myself to get a move on again with my writing schedule. Like I mentioned before, my real world schedule is kind of hectic, so finding time to write among my other real world responsibilities is difficult. But I promise that I'm not abandoning this story any time soon! It's really grown on me, and I'm having a good time with it.

But in any case, it's time for...

**Reviews!**

**Zecrea**: Thank you for the review! I've always wanted to explore Haru and Rei's relationship a little bit more, and this was how I decided on doing it. As I said, that Haru chapter was written actually a few months ago, and I just didn't know where I was going to insert it. I also agree with you on AFO stealing Rei's quirk; it probably wouldn't happen, so that's why I went with this instead. Not like it's much better for Rei... hahaha.

**dragontamer64**: Hahaha thank you so much! It's been very difficult getting back into the swing of writing, so your kind words help me a lot. I've always enjoyed writing personally, and it's so strange to be receiving positive feedback from internet strangers and friends. I never would have guessed that people would enjoy my story so much! But I'm so glad you enjoyed this Haru chapter as well; I hated the fact that I introduced Haru in the very beginning of the story and never brought her back, so here she is! I wanted to make sure that Haru meant something to the story and was meaningful in her actions.

**ILikeFoxes828**: Thank you so much, and thank you for your consistent reviews as well! They are very motivating, and I'm so glad you're enjoying this story and especially that last chapter. I will do my best to continue writing good content!

**Crosswald**: Thank you for your kind words! I definitely had fun not only developing Haru, but Nana as well. I feel like I'm starved for One for All user content, so I'm just creating my own at this point (and yeah, I'm caught up on the manga, but I just... need more). Hopefully this cliffhanger for this chapter is a little easier to bear than the last chapter!

**RandomThingz123**: Have no fear! Rei is safe and the chapter is here! I'm glad that we're finally moving through the training camp arc as well; it pained me to have to take a break right in the middle of the action, but we're going places now! I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter as well. Seems that a lot of people really enjoyed reading about Haru, which is good to know and I'm glad as well.

**akagami hime chan**: I'm toying with another AU chapter (no spoilers, but it's definitely going to be more fluffy than previous ones, if that's even possible?), but I'm glad you say that you enjoy all of it! I'm definitely more of an angst writer, since I CLEARLY like to draw things out for the long run (lol, so sorry Rei and Bakugou).

**Vedahzii**: Thank you for your kind words! Writing is all practice, and trust me, it's taken a lot of practice to get to my current writing level. But I'm always looking to improve as well, which is why I keep writing. It's like any sport or craft/ activity! Here's to the both of us and our writing practices ^^

**XXThisJustInXX**: Here's the newest chapter, as promised! Rei will be surviving, my poor child, but the next few chapters will probably be a heavy mix of angst with a pinch of fluff as well. Thanks so much for your review, and good talking with you as well! Please enjoy ^^

**yaoi4adollar**: I PROMISE SHE'S NOT DEAD I SWEAR I'M NOT THAT EVIL TT And they will be reunited soon, I promise! Thanks so much for the constant reviews; I really appreciate them and look forward to them!

**bluefrost15**: Aaaahhh thank you so much for all of your reviews! I'm so glad you're enjoying this story so much, and that you're enjoying Rei and Bakugou. I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't all fun and sunshine writing this story, but seeing how everyone really enjoys it had made me smile at the end of the day. I promise that this is not the end yet! They'll be reunited soon ^^ Thanks again!

**synismysin**: Thank you for the binging! I know how that feels to binge a story, and it's such an honor that you would say that about this story. I look forward to bringing you and others more content soon, and perhaps new stories as well. Have a great day, and thanks so much for the review!

**MommaBear**: Thank you for your review! The updates won't be as frequent anymore, but I promise that this story is not over. I'm hoping for more monthly updates so that I can stay alive with work and everything, but it's not over until I say it's over. Thank you thank you thank you!


	33. Return

Chapter 33

Return

* * *

_After the incident, we met up with Todoroki and Yaoyorozu and went with Kacchan to the police. Kacchan was quiet. _

_We were all quiet, after that night. Kacchan was safe and alive. But Akatsuki was still nowhere to be found. _

_So, after more than half a day, we headed home with more questions than answers._

_We had done all we could. It was officially out of our hands now._

_All we could do was wait for her to return to us._

* * *

The first thing Rei wanted to do upon awakening was take a shower.

It was the second thing she had smelled, the first of which being the typical scent of a hospital. Antiseptic and cleaners were strong in the room, as well as a general staleness that came with being in a hospital. Perhaps it was the stiffness of the curtains that were cheaply made and barely kept out any light, or the synthetic material of the chairs that were placed around the bed so that they were easy to clean. In any case, it smelled like a hospital, which was frankly a relief.

At least she was alive, and safe for that matter.

But the second thing that had hit her nose was her own stench. She hadn't been able to shower for… well, who knew how long now. It certainly didn't help that she had been running around, sweating like a madman during the final night of the training camp. All that sweat had dried on her body and left her feeling rather disgusting again. The only difference was that it had been who knew how many days since she'd been able to shower, unlike training camp where at least she got to use the hot springs style baths.

Unfortunately, a shower was nowhere near in sight, although a nurse promised her that a sponge bath was in order now that she was awake as well. That didn't sit well with Rei. What was so bad that they were preventing her from getting out of bed for so long?

This was apparently the third time she had woken up. The first time she had emerged from her apparent coma, she hadn't done much more than open her eyes and immediately fall back asleep. The second time she had awoken, she barely remembered hearing doctors talking above her when she had opened her eyes. This time, the reason behind her awakening was the pain. A burning sensation in her back had her crying out and choking from the sensation, the doctors immediately responding and administering another dosage of whatever painkiller they were using on her that also made her immediately fall back asleep.

What was that saying about the third time being the charm?

At least on the third time she had awoken, the pain was down and her mind was astonishingly clear compared to the previous two times. A nurse had come to check her vitals and ask about pain levels, to which Rei had responded that things were minimal. Truth be told, her back still hurt plenty, but it was more dull than before and she felt as though she had slept long enough.

She wanted answers.

Unfortunately, the nurse had little to help her with. The only answer she had received was that she had been in the hospital for nearly six days already, and that she had suffered numerous traumas to her body. No shit. That much was obvious, from Rei's foggy memory and the pain she was currently in. She was beginning to notice the pain in her arms, legs, and her torso as well, vaguely remembering that at some point, she had withstood a punch from All Might himself. Groaning, Rei sank back into the pillows completely.

But it wasn't for long. A knock at the door sounded a minute later, forcing Rei fully awake once more. Aizawa entered the room, along with a police officer and another blonde man wrapped in bandages and a sling. The final entrant was unrecognizable to Rei's memory, yet somehow familiar, but she managed a nod to all of them as they filed into the room.

"Akatsuki-san, good to see you awake."

Rei bowed her head, noting her limited range of movement and the way that her back pinged and tightened. "Yes, sensei."

Aizawa gestured to the other two. "This is officer Tsukauchi, as well as…" He trailed off, all eyes on the third figure as he stepped forward toward the bed.

"Young Akatsuki, it is good to see you alive."

Squinting, Rei blinked a few times before the voice finally registered a bit. The way he talked, the way he looked at her… "All… Might… sensei?"

"Ah, that's right." Aizawa folded his arms over his chest, sinking into a chair that sat near the foot of the bed as Tsukauchi helped All Might pull up two others. "You weren't awake when it happened."

"When… what happened?"

The three men looked at one another, All Might simply clearing his throat for a moment before it devolved into a true cough. He looked away hesitantly, clearly embarrassed by something, leaving the other two to pick up the loose ends. In the end, it was Aizawa who continued. "All Might's true form is this here. He's thus announced his retirement from hero duties, though he'll still be teaching at U.A. for now."

"I… see…" Rei frowned, looking away from the three for a moment and down at her hands. She scrounged her memory. All Might had fought with that villain, All For One. He had fought All For One because…

Her hands clenched into tight balls.

Was it her fault, that All Might was retired?

The detective's voice broke Rei out of her reverie. "We understand that you must have some questions. Hopefully you've guessed that we have some as well."

Rei finally looked up, willing herself to move on. Questions now, thinking and musing later. Nodding, she folded her hands into her lap. "I do."

"Let's start with you then," Aizawa suggested, slouching in his chair. "What do you have for us that we can answer?"

"Bakugou."

His name left her lips faster than she could even consciously articulate a question. Brows furrowed in concern, Rei sat up a little straighter. "Where… how is he?"

"Safe. He sustained little to no injuries. He's currently at home under house arrest for his protection."

"And… everyone else?"

"Also safe. There were a few injuries from the training camp, if that's what you're referring to, but nothing fatal and nothing terribly serious." The way that Aizawa's eye twitched at his last statement had Rei thinking otherwise, though she quickly realized why. Midoriya, that beautiful idiot. He had been in a severe condition when they had parted. But if he was alright…

Rei sighed, leaning backward again. "Good." She licked her lips, pausing for a moment, trying to figure out how to articulate her next question. "How long was I… captured?"

"A little over two days."

The knowledge felt like a punch to her gut. Everything came flying back. The League of Villains. Their hideout. Bakugou. And then…

All For One.

The room.

Shifting in the bed, Rei looked to the window. "Where's Reina?"

"We've set her and her partner up in a hotel room not too far from here," Aizawa answered smoothly, though his gaze had hardened at the way that Rei had begun to tense up. "We'll send them in as soon as we're done here."

Black hair shifted as Rei nodded in response. "I think… that's all I have for now."

Tsukauchi sat up, as did the two others. "Please ask any more questions you think of," the detective spoke in a calming manner, "but we will move on to our questions for now. This may be difficult, so we apologize in advance. We must hear your story now."

Swallowing hard, Rei nodded again. "Go ahead."

"When you were captured, what happened? Tell us everything, in as much detail as possible."

"I was trapped by one villain's quirk. It was like I was trapped in something. The first thing I remember was being released inside some sort of bar."

Tsukauchi had taken out a notepad, scribbling down notes furiously as Rei spoke. Aizawa and All Might both had their eyes turned onto their student, watching her carefully. Unable to meet their gaze, Rei's eyes turned downward toward her hands again, gaze going blank as she recounted her tale.

"Was Bakugou there?"

Rei shook her head. "I didn't see him."

The detective nodded. "Continue."

"I… I tried to fight. But I realized I was outnumbered." She looked up to the detective. "Shigaraki Tomura, he was there. So was the warp gate, the same two from the USJ incident."

He nodded, scribbling down another note while gesturing for her to continue. Gaze returning downward, Rei spoke. "There were others. But then, there was a voice coming through a television. I… coughed up this gray stuff, and I was transported to-"

Her voice cut out, lips remaining parted. Golden eyes unseeing, she stared forward blankly, breath hitching. Tsukauchi had paused his writing, three sets of eyes turned towards the young girl in concern.

It was Aizawa who broke the silence. "Akatsuki?"

Exhaling, Rei shuddered, closing her eyes as her brow furrowed, as though in pain. A tear rolled down her cheek as her mind raced, arms wrapping around herself as she fought to stave off the cold she felt in her bones. It was like she was transported back into that room once again, the darkness consuming her.

"... He was there. He told me things. I-I didn't want to be there. The dark, the… cold."

"He?"

Silence. She didn't want to say it. But she had to, for the record to be clear.

Swallowing hard, she bowed her head once more.

"All For One."

Everyone stiffened at the villain's name. No one had expected the mastermind himself to make a play. But this was not something that could be faked. Who in their right mind would want to?

"Akatsuki."

Rei shuddered at her name, but looked in Aizawa's general direction. Her eyes were still glazed over, and they didn't quite meet his own, but somehow he could tell that she was listening. "All For One has been captured. He's sitting in the highest security prison cell as we speak."

Somehow, the knowledged helped. Rei breathed a sigh of relief. The villain was locked up for good. He could no longer metaphorically touch her.

And yet, she could feel his whispers gliding across her skin, even from all that distance and space.

The three adults could only watch as Rei began to fold in on herself once more, a shudder going down her spine once more. The assurance had both meant everything and nothing. There was only so much they could do for the wounds that could not be physically healed.

Tsukauchi cleared his throat, flipping over his notebook to a new page and continuing to scribble away. "Apologies, Akatsuki-san. There isn't much left now. Was there any information that he gave you that might be of use to us?"

"Yes." Her voice came out as a whisper. She faltered again, but her hands clenched at the sheets in resolution. She would do this. "He knew about me. My quirk. He knew my mother and father. He… knew about the orphanage. He said that he had planned for me to end up with him, one way or another."

Looking up, it was the first time since the beginning of their conversation that she met Tsukauchi's eyes in particular, let alone all of them. Her voice began to shake as she spoke, desperation sinking in. "I was so scared. I didn't want to be a villain, but he said… He said…"

"He said?"

"My father." Her thoughts were beginning to jump around, her words trying to match her thought process. "He was there, in the warehouse. He was a nomu." The tears began to fall more quickly now that everything was coming back to her. "All For One said that I would either join him or become a nomu. He left me in that room! I didn't move. I didn't want to breathe wrong."

"Young Akatsuki…"

"I don't know how long I was there for. I didn't move the entire time. When Gang Orca found me…"

She broke off, unable to go one. The tears were streaming down her face now, a torrential downpour. She was shaking, arms wrapped around her body tightly as she sniffled loudly in the quiet hospital room. Even Tsukauchi had stopped writing, setting his pen down on the pad and watching the young girl with pity.

They let her remain there for a minute, quietly sobbing to herself. Then, Tsukauchi stood up, tucking the pad away.

"I think we're done here. That's enough for now, Akatsuki-san. Thank you for your time. You're a strong girl."

Rei only sniffled again, nodding gratefully at the detective. The man motioned for All Might to stand up, the latter being broken out of a stupor and racing to his feet. Instead of following the detective, however, he came to stand near the edge of Rei's bed, placing his one free hand gently on her shoulder.

"You did well, young Akatsuki. You're incredibly brave."

"All Might…"

But before she could say anything, he simply smiled and patted her on the shoulder, effectively cutting her off. "We will see you at school, when you're better." With a wave he finally followed Tsukauchi out the door and beyond view, leaving a confused Rei with a weary heart behind in her bed.

Turning her attention to the final inhabitant in the room, Rei wiped her tears away hastily. Aizawa was still sitting in his seat, though he was hunched forward and leaning on his elbows. His fingers twitched and twiddled in his lap, a strange sight to see from the usually collected and severe looking teacher. With the last of the tear streaks gone, Rei settled back into her bed. "Aizawa-sensei."

He hesitated briefly before speaking. "I apologize," he began, "for not taking better care of you."

Rei blinked in confusion, but waited for her teacher to continue. "But the past is behind us. You have a decision to make."

"A decision?"

Aizawa nodded. "Your attendance at U.A.. We realize that… your experience was difficult. If you wish to withdraw from U.A.'s hero program, we would be able to transfer you to another course, or another school if you would wish."

She needed no further explanation. The year thus far had been filled with unexpected twists and turns regarding villains and their dastardly pursuits of U.A. and All Might in particular. Class 1-A had the misfortune of being a particular target. Hardly anyone would be able to blame her if she left the hero program, after what she had experienced.

But was that what she wanted? Aizawa stood from his chair. "We don't need an answer right away. Take your time deciding. Consider all aspects before making a decision."

"Sensei."

Aizawa paused, staring down at his student. She looked so small, so terrified in the hospital bed. She looked nothing like the young woman that he had been training for the past few months, the one that secretly gave him hope in the future of Class 1-A. Here she looked broken, and he partially wondered if she would ever bounce back.

"All Might… is he like that because of me?"

He was silent for a moment before responding. "All Might made his own decision. Don't take on more responsibility than you already have." He decided on responding honestly, though perhaps that wasn't the best route. If possible, Rei seemed to deflate even more than she already had, looking even more fragile than before. Her eyes glimmered with further tears, and Aizawa sighed internally to himself.

"Get some rest. I'll send in your mentor when she gets here."

Rei muttered her thanks, sinking back into the bed with a discontented sigh as she heard the door close. Left alone with her thoughts, her mind began to wander once more.

An option to withdraw from U.A., huh? That was really something. It spoke volumes of how serious the situation was, how much they imagined Rei was impacted by the events of what had happened. And she was, truly. But was that enough to warrant a dropout from the program she had worked so hard to get into?

On one hand, it was appealing. She could get away from the notoriety, the fame that 1-A had earned over the past few months. It wasn't like she couldn't become a hero from other programs either. If she wanted to, she didn't even need to become a hero any longer either. Just thinking about having to face villains once more left her on edge and on the verge of tears simultaneously.

But wasn't that something she could fix? And what about her dream? All For One had mentioned that he had kept tabs on the orphanage where Rei had been raised her entire life. Surely there were other locations like that, with other kids who were being taken advantage of and being preyed upon by other, less than savory figures. Rei wanted to become a hero in order to protect those kids, to shield the helpless from the bullies of the world. Now that she had gotten a taste of what the field was like, would she back down?

It was truly impossible to tell. Rei was glad that Aizawa had given her some time to think about it. But as her mind drifted to Aizawa and the other men, her thoughts began to shift to All Might.

Aizawa's answer hadn't been reassuring. In fact, Rei only worried more about All Might and his condition. Had Rei truly caused the great hero's downfall from the number one position? Wasn't it her fault, if she had been the one that was captured, the one in the hands of the villain? She had been there during their fight, had been on the fringes of it and had even been injured based on the collateral damage of their brawl.

Was she responsible for All Might's end?

The thought was enough to tear her apart. Perhaps it was the right thing to withdraw from the hero program. The guilt was already eating her away. Shifting further into the bed, Rei closed her eyes, exhausted from the tears she had cried.

What was she going to do?

* * *

"_Aside from that, the next family we're visiting might be difficult-"_

"Oh, sure! I'm counting on you."

"Oi! Don't hit me, old lady! I'll kill you!"

"Shut up! It's your own fault for being so damn weak! You got caught, and now you're causing everyone trouble!"

The Bakugou household was… lively, to say the least.

Aizawa and All Might both stared on blankly, a bit awkward at the sight of Bakugou and his mother so openly fighting and bickering with one another in front of the two U.A. staff. They appeared to be on the verge of a fist fight, with Katsuki's father doing his best to try and deescalate the situation, without much success.

So this was where Bakugou got his infamous temper and foul mouth from.

Trying to reenter the situation and break up the fight, Aizawa leaned forward in his seat. "Is it… really alright?"

"Hm? Oh!" Mitsuki slapped Bakugou one more time over the head, forcing him into a bow in front of his teachers. He grimaced and growled again, but this time did not rear his head in retribution, instead electing to remain quiet. "The dorm, right? We'd actually be grateful." Mitsuki's face twisted in concern and with a touch of something else, though it was unidentifiable and unclear. "Katsuki's reckless and really good at everything, and he was blessed with a good quirk too. Growing up, he had people fawning over him from a young age, so he ended up like this. He kept getting praised for shallow stuff."

The look that Bakugou shot his mother might have murdered someone on the spot, but she continued her explanation to Aizawa and All Might. "That's why I was really happy to hear what you said at the press conference. It made me think that this school was really watching him quite closely. I was worried for a while and wasn't sure how it'd turn out, but he's back safe and sound now, so-"

She broke off, taking time to ruffle her son's hair affectionately. Bakugou still looked like he wanted to murder his mother, but the look was slowly softening, bit by bit. "You might be in hot water for a while," she continued with a smile on her face, "but I trust you all and leave him to you." Looking at her husband, she smiled brilliantly. "Right?"

The two parents nodded, sharing a secretive smile before turning back to the teachers and bowing. Mitsuki's hand was still pressed down firmly on her son's head as she forced him along with them, the trio bowing deeply toward Aizawa and All Might. "He's a hopeless guy," Mitsuki continued, "but please train him hard and make him a good hero."

For a while the room was quiet, everyone taking in what had just been said. Eventually Bakugou was the first to wiggle free of his mother's restraint, huffing and folding his arms over his chest while sagging backwards into his seat, a scowl plastered across his face as per usual. Mitsuki, however, sat up straight once again, a bit of a timid look on her face. "If you are able to," she began, speaking slowly but articulately, "can you tell us anything about Akatsuki Rei's condition?"

At her words, Aizawa and All Might tensed. They shared a look before turning back toward the family in front of them, surprised at the question. This was the first meeting where someone had asked about Akatsuki. Aizawa leaned forward, a frown on his face. "Most of the details are still confidential, but Akatsuki-san is safe and recovering."

"Recovering?"

Raising an eyebrow, Aizawa continued. "May I ask why you ask?"

"Oh, we've met on one occasion. Seeing as how she's staying with our neighbors, we were a bit concerned. We haven't heard anything from Reina-san and Hotaru-san for the past few days, and we were concerned. Also," she grinned widely, "my son here has been anxious for news as well, not like he'd say anything as arrogant as he is."

"Oi! Shut your mouth you old hag!"

"Oh, like I haven't heard that one! Stop pacing around the house and ask questions when you have the chance!"

The duo devolved into another bickering session, all until Masaru generously provided an out for the teachers and offered to walk them to the door. All too readily agreeing, the group parted way, and the teachers quickly ejected themselves back into the humid August air. Bugs chirruped in the bushes around the residential district, and Aizawa wiped his forehead as he pulled out his phone to check their route.

"Next is…" he squinted at the phone, blinking a few times before discerning the names they had left. "Not Akatsuki. She lives next door, but we've already broken the news to them. Midoriya lives close by, right?"

"All Might."

The sound of his name had All Might turning around as Aizawa continued toward the car, not caring about the ensuing conversation. Bakugou had slid on a pair of slippers and had begun walking outside of the house, red eyes curiously devoid of anger. His face was surprisingly neutral, something that was a rare sight to see indeed. Curious, All Might turned around to face his student.

Bakugou stared at his teacher's face for a few moments, scrutinizing it carefully before speaking.

"What is Deku to you?"

All Might paused before answering diplomatically. "He's my student. An aspiring hero like yourself."

"Oi, Katsuki!" His mother's voice rang from inside the house as she screeched from deep within. "The police said not to go outside!"

He gave no indication that he heard his mother, but after another moment Bakugou turned over his shoulder and began shuffling back into the house at the same leisurely pace that he had used to meet All Might outside. "I see," he muttered just loud enough for his teacher to hear. "If you don't want to tell me, then that's fine. Thanks."

Secrets, secrets, and more secrets. First, no one tells him anything about Akatsuki Rei's condition. Then All Might refuses to tell him the truth on the connection between the now ex-pro hero and that damn Deku.

It wouldn't do well to dwell on it. But neither was it Bakugou's type to leave something alone if his mind fixated upon it. Akatsuki would tell him-

What would she tell him? Probably to let it lie. Well, at least now he could think more about what she would do and how she would probably rip him a new one for trying to hold on so tenaciously to the link he was missing between All Might and Deku. She would probably tell him calmly and nicely at first, but then her brow would furrow deeper and deeper as she realized that he wouldn't be listening. Then she'd probably say something sarcastic or biting, and then roll her eyes at whatever his response would be.

The thought almost made him smile, but it was crushed by the fact that none of these things would happen without her here. Briefly he looked up to the house next door, to a familiar window that he often caught himself watching recently for any movement. There was nothing except for blinds that were partially opened and obscuring any clear view, though there was no movement from within the room as it had been for the past few days. A scowl lingered on his lips as he trudged back indoors, disappointed at the fact that two things were going against his favor.

At least if Akatsuki were here, he could ask her about her opinion. Would he ask her about her opinion? Maybe. She was trustworthy enough to know his thoughts. He wanted to text her, but he didn't want to seem needy. That aside, she hadn't yet responded to the first text message he had sent as soon as he got home.

_Are you okay_

His fingers had lingered over the keys for a while, writing and deleting and rewriting nearly seven different messages before finally settling on something neutral. That aside, he needed to know. He needed to know if she was alright.

He needed to know if she was safe.

As the days passed and the response was lacking, his concern grew. And this time, there was nothing that he could do about it.

"KATSUKI!"

Damn it.

"I KNOW!"

* * *

A fractured spine, three broken ribs, and one dislocated shoulder, all in addition to the hamstring injury she had sustained from the training camp as well as the various cuts and bruises that had littered her body. Fortunately, it was nothing permanent; with time, she would make a full recovery. The doctor said that she had been lucky to be alive, given the fact that, upon her arrival to the hospital, her regenerative quirk had been operating at a minimal level. Even so, if it weren't for the fact that she had a regenerative quirk, she would have been in a much worse state. Thankfully, her regen powers seemed to be operating at normal levels once again, though it was certainly a scare that they seemed to have quit working for a while.

Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Rei had almost died. So far, she had said nothing about her visit to the afterlife, and especially nothing about seeing her dead best friend. It was probably the wisest decision, seeing how everyone was already sensitive around her current mental state and was doubting her wellbeing at every turn. Maybe her healing had slowed because, for a while, she had basically been dead.

But who knew? Frankly, she was lucky to be alive. Even if she didn't know what the future held, being alive at least meant that she could make decisions about her path.

Being dead certainly limited those options.

So she tried not to think too hard about anything.

Easier said than done.

Aizawa's admission weighed on her mind. Rei wanted to say with absolute confidence that she was going to stay at U.A., that she was well enough to continue her hero studies and that she wanted to be a hero. And she did, in a way. But this experience had opened her eyes to the world, specifically the hero world that she wanted to get into.

She knew that the road was a dark one, but never had she imagined that it would be this dark, and so soon.

Then again, no one had expected the road to be this difficult this quickly. No one could have predicted it, and it was certainly out of the ordinary. But things had happened. There was no mistaking that fact.

Life happened. Time moved things along.

It was overwhelming. Even with nothing to do in the hospital room, aside from sleeping and healing, Rei was mentally exhausted. The decision laying before her was not an easy one. Once she made her decision, there was no going back.

So instead she slept on, trying to block out the world and the way that it continued to turn.

Just a little more time.

She awoke gently, to the sensation of a hand softly stroking her hair. Roused from slumber once more, Rei blinked away the sleepiness from her eyes, turning her head to the side and searching for the source.

For the first time in days, a true smile lit her face.

"Reina!"

Her mentor smiled back, tears in her grey eyes. "I'm here, Rei. I'm here."

Rei leaned into the affectionate gesture, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"No, you're not. We're both here."

"Hotaru?"

A figure shifted from another seat near the foot of the bed, drawing Rei's attention with a smile. "How are you feeling?" Hotaru asked, her melodic voice soothing Rei's anxieties.

"Like shit."

"Language," Reina chided, sending a mock glare to Rei. It only deepened the smile on Rei's face.

"You're both here."

"And we're not leaving. At least," Reina looked at Hotaru cryptically, "not for a while."

Rei looked between the two in confusion, squinting her eyes at the severe look that passed between the two adults. "What are you not telling me?"

Silence. Eventually Hotaru sighed, caving in. "Even once you heal, they might not let you out of the hospital. Not until they know that you're sane and mentally sound."

Upon hearing the announcement, Rei sighed. It wasn't much of a surprise, nor was it disappointing to hear. Instead, all she could feel was…

"You look relieved."

A smile spread across her lips. "I am. I know I'm not doing well. To hear that I won't be leaving until then… Well, that's fine with me."

Reina reached over to squeeze Rei's hand, not too tightly but not lacking firmness either. "You're taking this rather well."

"I did almost have a meltdown when Aizawa-sensei, All Might, and the detective came in for questioning."

"We know." Hotaru stood up, scooting her chair closer to Reina's side in order to be closer to the two girls. "That's why you're being assigned a therapist."

"And guess who?" Reina's grin gave it away.

Rei's jaw unhinged. "You?"

Hotaru nodded. "We figured that you'd be more comfortable telling me things than a stranger. Of course, if you'd prefer to not talk with me, that can be arranged. It might be strange, since we know each other fairly well already."

"No." The smile came back to Rei's face. "I would like that. You both know me well."

"Well it's a darn good thing! The hospital and U.A. staff was ready to fight us on it, but we were able to convince them otherwise."

"Just know that, if you change your mind, I won't be offended. It's your call."

All Rei could feel was thankfulness for the two women in her life. Speaking with a stranger had its perks, but speaking with Hotaru was even more comfortable. Rei knew that Hotaru had experience with counseling kids, especially those from troubled situations, and though her experience was admittedly limited when it came to counseling in regards to the realm of hero work, Rei was more than happy to make do. She trusted Hotaru, trusted the advice she would receive.

Suddenly, things got quiet once more. Reina and Hotaru exchanged looks rapidly, a series of emotions flickering on their faces, much to Rei's confusion. Eventually she grew sick of being left out of their silent conversation. "Alright, what's going on now?"

Hotaru inclined her head, her lips twitching upward secretively. "The honor's all yours," she said cryptically to Reina, who only nodded seriously before turning to Rei. The nerves began to churn in Rei's gut at the severity of the situation, sitting up straighter in her bed than before. Noticing Rei's posture change, Reina shook her head.

"It's nothing serious."

Hotaru scoffed, but remained silent. Seeing her reaction only made Rei more suspicious. The black haired girl raised an eyebrow at her mentor, gesturing for her to continue.

At this Reina immediately became sheepish, shifting in her seat almost uncomfortably. It was probably the first time Rei had ever seen her mentor be so tense. "Well, we were going to do something special, or something that was social media worthy-you know those really cute unveiling videos and stuff that you always see, and it kind of makes you want to cry?"

"You're babbling," Hotaru teased, making Reina flush.

"Right. Well, I'll get to the point."

Rei grinned. "Will you?"

"Oh, hush, you. Don't you want to know what I have to say?" Rei fell silent, though the wry smile remained on her lips for a few moments longer. Reina was still flustered, her hands twisting in her lap as her fingers fidgeted. "Anyway, what I mean to say is, we started the paperwork a while ago. Of course, it helps to have friends in high places, and finding out what we did about your… parents… only sped the process up."

The mention of Rei's parents made her stiffen up. "My parents?"

"We heard from the debrief," Hotaru mentioned quietly. "Not to mention the DNA tests they've been running on those creatures. They found them pretty quickly."

"Right. In any case, what I'm trying to say is…" Reina swallowed hard, spitting her words out quickly.

"How would you like to become family, officially?"

Time slowed. Rei could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She wondered for a moment if she had heard right. But with the way that both Hotaru and Reina were looking at her expectantly, with both trepidation and barely contained excitement, she knew that she hadn't heard wrong.

Still, she had to voice her doubts.

"Are you serious?"

"If you want. I mean, you don't have to, since you're basically almost old enough to live on your own and be an adult, but-are you crying?"

Rei couldn't help it. The tears came down unhinged this time, without reserve.

She choked out a laugh. "It's funny," she sniffled. "I thought I was done crying, but I didn't think that I'd be crying happy tears now."

"Good." Reina sighed in relief, the tears welling in her own eyes as well. "Good, good. I mean, not good you're crying, but-I was so nervous, you know?"

"You nearly choked it," Hotaru joked, walking around the room and finding a box of tissues for the teary eyed trio. "But you managed."

"Yeah, I was really nervous! I don't think I've been that nervous for a while, at least since my first press conference."

"You're serious?"

Rei still couldn't believe what she was hearing. But Reina's smiled solidified it all.

"Serious, serious. Of course, there's small things to take care of, like if you want to change your last name, as well as your part in the family inheritance and stocks, but other than that-"

"Stocks?" Rei choked, eyes wide.

"Yeah, but don't worry about that! That's a later problem." Reina squeezed her hand once more, a jubilant smile on her face. "Your first problem to tackle is getting out of here and getting back to school, little miss hero."

School. Her conversation with Aizawa came back, haunting her and making her look down in shame. What would her decision be?

"You know," Reina started, making Rei look back up to her face, "We'll support you with whatever decision you make. But before you give up, haven't you already given so much to make it this far? What do you see in the future for yourself?"

It was strange, how moments before she had been told to not think about the future, and then moments later was told to do the exact opposite. But truth be told, when Rei closed her eyes even in the hospital bed, she saw herself standing with her classmates. She saw herself graduating from U.A., finishing in the commencement ceremony. She saw herself asking Chirasaki for a job at his hero agency once she was done.

Like she had told Haru, she saw herself standing side by side with Bakugou, the two of them taking on the world.

In order to get there, she had to stay in school. It was in that moment she realized how futile it was to think about her decision to stay at U.A.. Her mind was already made up.

"I know," Rei smiled softly. "I know what my decision is."

Reina and Hotaru smiled back, knowing looks on their faces. "Good. And we'll be by your side all the way through. Now, more than ever."

* * *

Room decorating.

What a joke.

The noise was a nuisance as everyone clambered up and down the hallways, taking in each other's rooms and chattering away loudly. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the boys and girls all took off into the elevators and into the next wing.

Finally, some peace.

He had been ready to go and sleep, when he saw it.

_**New Messages (4)**_

* * *

**Akatsuki Rei (9:55 PM)**

_I'm alive_

**Akatsuki Rei (9:56 PM)**

_That sounds terrible when I say it like that_

**Akatsuki Rei (9:56 PM)**

_I'm guessing you're okay too_

**Akatsuki Rei (9:57 PM)**

_Text me when you can_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:15 PM)**

_Give me a fucking heart attack why don't you_

_You didn't respond for days_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:15 PM)**

_Where are you_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:18 PM)**

_In a hospital in Hosu City_

_Sorry I didn't have my phone_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:19 PM)**

_Whatever_

_You're alive. That's all that matters_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:20 PM)**

_The great Bakugou Katsuki is capable of caring? How novel_

_:P_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:21 PM)**

_Tell anyone and I'll roast you alive_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:21 PM)**

_But seriously, are you okay_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:21 PM)**

_You're the one in a damn hospital_

_I'm fine_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:22 PM)**

_Seriously? No injuries? _

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:23 PM)**

_Stop worrying about me and worry about yourself_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:23 PM)**

_Sorry, I can't help but worry. You were kidnapped too. _

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:23 PM)**

_And stop apologizing, dumbass_

_What about your injuries. You're in a fuckin hospital still?_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:24 PM)**

_I will, you absolute hard headed walnut_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:26 PM)**

_Nothing that won't heal._

_Fractured spine and ribs, and some other stuff._

_Tomorrow I'm finally going to be able to try walking_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:27 PM)**

_Fucking hell Rei_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:28 PM)**

_What?_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:29 PM)**

_All that and you're suddenly gonna start walking? _

_Wtf_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:30 PM)**

_It's my quirk. I heal fast. _

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:31 PM)**

_You're a fierce beast_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:32 PM)**

_Ahahahahaha_

_The mighty Bakugou is complimenting me?_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:34 PM)**

_Of course you idiot_

_You're one of the few I can tolerate_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:34 PM)**

_Hahahaha_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:35 PM)**

_I miss you_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:37 PM)**

_Hurry up and come back to school_

_Everyone's moved in already_

_Too many idiots in such close quarters_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:38 PM)**

_Do I count as one of those idiots?_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:39 PM)**

_They're all idiot idiots_

_You're better than all of them_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:40 PM)**

_Doubtable, but I appreciate the differentiation_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:41 PM)**

_Just accept it_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:42 PM)**

_Seriously, though. I miss you, Katsuki_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:43 PM)**

_Then hurry up and get back_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:45 PM)**

_I'll do my best_

_I'm off to sleep again soon_

**Bakugou Katsuki (10:46 PM)**

_Good night_

**Akatsuki Rei (10:47 PM)**

_Good night_

* * *

Because of the severity of her injuries, the nurses and doctors monitored Rei's condition day and night for nearly a week. But by the sixth day it was clear that things were making a turn for the better. Her spine only ached from time to time as a result of the bruising that still hadn't healed, and the rest of her was almost completely mended. Well, as best as she could be. She was nowhere near one hundred percent, but she was getting close.

At any rate, the most important part was that her quirk was still intact. Her healing rate had returned to normal.

Things were beginning to look up again.

All except for one, itty bitty, tiny detail.

Physically, she was fine. She was close to being cleared from the hospital. It was nothing except for high praise and commendations from the hospital staff that Rei was ready for reentry back into the world.

But the nightmares were never far behind.

It hadn't been every night, but on occasion Rei's mind would slip back into that dark room. She would wake up in a cold sweat, often hyperventilating, mind racing as she would jolt from the darkness and into an only slightly more illuminated room. At least the hospital room was illuminated by low lights around the base of the room, and the hallway more often than not carried the gentle thrum of activity like beeping machines and rustling papers. It was enough to pull her out of her stupor and make her realize where she was: safe, out of harm's way.

She had spoken with Hotaru about her dreams. Thankfully, the older woman had been kind, and had concernedly spoke about various medications to help her. But Rei eventually turned them down. The medications would metabolize too quickly anyway.

This was a demon she needed to face on her own.

But aside from the nightmares, it was only time before she was redesignated and ready to head back out into the world. The day that finally came was warm and beautiful, and Rei couldn't help but inhale deeply as soon as she stepped out from the hospital. It was good to be out, to return to normal. Getting back into the swing of things would definitely be helpful.

Except that the routine had changed. Reina and Hotaru had already sent her belongings over to U.A., where they had been set up in her dorm room for her. The duo had gained clearance (something that had been extremely difficult to get, and would have been impossible without Aizawa's help and a stack of doctor's notes), and had set upon themselves the task of making sure that everything was in place by the time Rei returned.

Rei was thankful. According to the doctors, she was to avoid rigorous physical activity for another few weeks, although she already had plans to mostly disregard that note. When she had absolutely refused to accept the crutches they had wanted for her to use, the nurses had sighed and begrudgingly given her a back brace that kept her rigid and stiff. It was uncomfortable, and rather itchy at times, but her ego had accepted it as a proper trade off for crutches or even a wheelchair.

Even despite all the supports that were weighing her down, nothing could stop the lightness in her chest as she and her family made their way back to U.A.'s campus.

Things would get better. She would seize the future around its neck with her bare hands and bend it to her will in order to fashion it into something worth while.

With these thoughts and motivations in mind, it was with speed that Rei made her way to U.A.'s campus, ready for the next chapter in her life.

But along with changes came goodbyes.

The front steps of U.A. were surprisingly devoid of life. The only person in sight was a stern and sleep deprived Aizawa standing at the front entrance, waiting for Rei's arrival with his hands shoved in his pockets and his eyes watching his student carefully, looking her over for any signs of weariness or weakness. Rei stood up straighter as soon as she saw him, even though her back pinched a bit at the motion. Stubbornness kept her upright. She didn't want to look weak, not when she had made her decision.

"So, we won't be seeing you for a while. Not with this dorming system in place."

Rei turned to Reina and Hotaru, smiling warmly. "I'll call you. I promise."

"You'd better facetime us, or we'll come crashing through U.A. ourselves!" Hotaru laughed a bit at her own threat, a broad smile on her face.

Reina's brow furrowed as she looked over Rei once more. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Positive." Rei's smile widened. "You'd better call me once the paperwork goes through."

"And you're sure you're ready to change your name?"

It was a decision that had been rather difficult. There was something to be said about keeping her old name, something that called out to her. It was a reminder of her past, of who she had been. It reminded Rei of everything that had happened to her, that had made her and moulded her into the person she was today.

But now was time for a rebirth.

Now was the time to begin anew.

Rei's grin turned up sharply. "I think Fujiwara Rei has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?"

Reina smiled in return. "It does sound rather nice."

"Good. 'Cuz I like it."

"Me too."

For a moment the three all stood facing one another, taking it all in. It was Hotaru who moved in first, extending her arms to the sides to bring in the other two girls for a group hug. Reciprocating the gesture, the trio all bunched together one final time.

"I love you both."

Two pairs of arms squeezed Rei tighter. "We love you too."

It couldn't last long enough. Rei wished that they could stay that way forever. It was almost too sudden, learning that she and Reina would finally become family officially before they were separated as Rei moved into the dorm system. But life was often cruel, and at least this was not so cruel as things among others.

Finally pulling away, Rei gave one last smile, adjusted the light backpack she wore on her back, and walked away towards her homeroom teacher. He said nothing as she approached, simply nodding and turning to lead her into the campus. Rei fell into step, noticing that he was walking slower than normal, most likely pacing himself to make sure that Rei didn't overexert herself. She wanted to roll her eyes at the gesture, but she refrained. She was thankful anyway. It was tough enough standing straight up at attention. Walking at a pace faster than they had assumed would most likely be the end of her at the moment.

"Training is over for the day." Aizawa started off in his monotone voice. "You might have heard that we're having both hero classes go for the provisional license exams."

Rei blinked, her footsteps halting for a moment before she hobbled a few steps to catch up with her teacher. "I… didn't know."

"For the past week and a half, we've been having everyone train on creating an ultimate move. I'll be leaving it up to you if you want to take the exams with everyone. It'll be grueling, and you're supposed to be healing, but I sincerely doubt that you planned to be bedridden for the next month anyway."

Rei smiled sheepishly. "No, sir."

"Then you'd better train hard. Not so hard that you'll break yourself, but you have some catching up to do."

"Yes, sir."

"Your classmates have also had the opportunity to improve and tweak their costumes. You won't be able to receive any upgrades until after the exams, but if you have any ideas, then you should send them down to the support department."

He fell silent for a moment before sparing a glance over his shoulder for the briefest of seconds. He seemed to contemplate something for a while before continuing.

"Based on what I've seen, you'll be behind your classmates. Furthermore, you'll be out for a while with your injuries."

Rei lowered her head. "Yes, sir." She spoke with dejection. It hurt to be reminded of her shortcomings.

But not for long, as Aizawa continued. "If you want to catch up, you'll need additional support. As it stands, I currently have time in the afternoons after class during the semester."

Blinking owlishly, Rei stared at the back of her homeroom teacher's head. "Sir? Is that an offer?"

"Frankly, you'd be doing me a favor if you agree." Ah. She should have known that there was some other motivation other than altruism. "I'm going to be helping train a student from the general studies department who's showing promise. He has little battle skill, and you'll need to work your way back up from near the beginning."

"Yes, sir." Rei's heart glowed with enthusiasm. "I'll do my best."

"I expect nothing less from you."

Extra lessons sounded like a nightmare, but Aizawa himself had offered. What other chance did Rei, or anyone, have to work this closely with Eraserhead himself? Briefly she wondered just who the general studies student was that had caught the attention of the teachers in the hero department. It was a shame that she didn't know anyone in the general studies department… or the support department… or actually, now that she thought about it, even in Class 1-B.

That would need to change, sooner or later.

The rest of the walk was silent, and Rei took the time to memorize the routes around the campus. They had begun walking past the dorms, and she was busy watching for pathways and landmarks to help guide herself among the expanse of identical looking dorm buildings. It didn't help that they were so far apart from each other; trees were densely packed in between the dorms, giving each building privacy and a sense of seclusion from the rest of the world. It was beautiful and scenic, yet it made for a longer walk that was currently killing Rei's back.

Eventually they made it to Class 1-A's building. It was sunset, and just about dinner time. Aizawa gestured for Rei to walk up to the door, and she looked up at him in surprise.

"I have business to take care of. I'll let you get reacquainted with your peers. Be ready for a day of training tomorrow."

Rei smiled a bit hesitantly. "Yes, sir."

Aizawa nodded and stalked off down the road, heading toward the main campus. Rei watched him go, a little nervous now that she was on her own.

She was going to see her classmates again. What would they say? It felt like it had been so long-

"Ah, Akatsuki-san?!"

A voice cried out, and Rei's breath hitched in recognition. Turning around toward the dorm building, she saw none other than Midoriya, standing in his gym clothes on the front porch. His jaw was slack, as though caught off guard at her appearance.

Rei managed a wave and a small smile at Midoriya's astonishment, walking slowly up toward the door. "Midoriya-kun. I'm glad you're safe."

At the sound of her voice, Midoriya visibly relaxed, jumping down from the porch and jogging up to meet her. "Are you kidding? I'm glad you're safe! We've been so worried about you, especially since you were the only one that didn't show up on move in day…"

Blinking, Rei looked deep into those green eyes of Midoriya's. How she had missed his energy and his enthusiasm. It was good to be back. "So, everyone else is safe?"

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "There were some injuries, but yours was the most serious. Oh!" He startled, as though suddenly remembering something. "Speaking of which, how were your injuries? Was it bad? Are you still hurt?"

Rei shrugged her shoulders, as though to say it wasn't a big deal. "The most serious was my spine, but with my quirk, I'm healing quickly."

Midoriya sighed in relief, a bright smile on his face. "That's good to hear. Everyone'll be glad to see you!"

"Midoriya-kun! Dinner's ready!"

Both black hair and green hair swung around as the duo's heads turned toward the front entrance. Standing there was a bright eyed Uraraka, who's astonishment and excitement immediately showed at the sight of their golden eyed classmate. "Oh! Rei-chan!"

Rei smiled, waving her hand sheepishly. "Guess I made it in time for dinner?"

The two of them started walking, Midoriya taking off a few steps ahead of Rei before pausing and turning around. His eyes widened at Rei's slow pace. "Ah, sorry!"

"It's fine. I know I'm slow." Rei huffed in irritation at her own slowness. "Stupid back."

"Does… it hurt?"

"No, it's fine."

"Here, let me grab your bag!"

"Ah, really, it's fine." But Midoriya was already lifting her bag off her back, slinging it over his shoulder with a grin.

"Seriously, take it easy! You still need to heal, right?"

Rei scowled, crossing her arms over her chest. "Can't happen soon enough. I want to take that license exam too."

Midoriya's eyes widened. "You're seriously thinking of taking the exam still?"

"I have to. Otherwise, I'm dead weight here."

He opened his mouth to say something, but Rei had already climbed the steps to the dorm and had pulled the door open with a bit of a struggle.

"Akatsuki-san!"

"Welcome home!"

Rei blinked in astonishment as the entire class swarmed the foyer, Yaoyorozu and the other girls in particular taking the lead and immediately launching themselves into a group hug around Rei. Stuttering, she winced at the sudden tightness as someone squeezed her around the waist.

"Ouch!"

"Oh, sorry!"

"Ah, Rei-chan, are you hurt?"

"Oh no! What's wrong?"

Immediately the group backed up a bit, giving Rei a bit of space. Wincing, she smiled a bit, though it turned out to be more of a grimace. "I'm fine. It's just my back hasn't healed yet."

"Ah! I'm so sorry!" Ashido attacked Rei again, though this time more gently wrapping her arms around Rei's upper back. "My bad! But we're so glad you're back!"

Rei's lips twitched upward. "So am I. I've missed a lot."

Yaoyorozu stepped forward and grabbed Rei's hands. "Don't worry! We'll all catch you up."

"C'mon, let's eat now!"

The group immediately shifted towards the dining area, while the rest of the class took turns welcoming Rei back to the class. Her heart warmed at the thoughtfulness of everyone, relishing in the feeling of being missed. How could she have ever thought to have left this place?

As the room began to settle down and the girls dragged Rei towards their table, a tuft of ash blonde hair caught Rei's eyes. Turning her head, her eyes widened as her own eyes clashed with cherry red, taking in the grumpy look on his face. Still, she could see the softness in his eyes, the concern as he looked her up and down, taking in the stiff way that she moved around the rest of the girls.

Smiling warmly, she nodded in his direction, satisfied as he nodded back. They would speak eventually. Just not now. Not with everyone here.

The moment was broken as Kaminari and Kirishima slammed their trays down next to Bakugou, earning a crabby screech from the explosive boy. Still, neither of them seemed to care, instead settling in and taking the yelling in stride. At the same moment, the girls all sat down at their table with their food, everyone launching into a conversation as they tried to catch Rei up on everything that she had missed.

Picking at her rice and soup, Rei smiled as she listened, taking everything in. Everything had changed, and yet in some ways, nothing had changed at all.

This was something she could get used to.

* * *

She had the entire second floor to herself.

The entire.

Second.

Floor.

Rei knew that there were boys on the second floor, but there was no way to get to them, given that they had to ride separate elevators to their wings. Frankly, that had been a smart move on the building designers' parts, given the fact that they had a disgusting purple grape boy in their class with less than savory plans when it came to the girls of their class, or just women in general.

Still, it was rather lonely. There was no one that she could talk with without having to take an elevator ride, no other room that she could crash when she was bored or needed help with something.

It was after dinner, and Rei was finally finished adjusting everything in her room to the way that she liked it. Completely unpacked and ready for the rest of the school year in the building, she sat at her desk, contemplating her next move.

She wanted to talk with Bakugou, but he hadn't responded to her last text. She couldn't technically go over to the boys' side, since it was getting close to curfew.

Pushing back from her desk, she stared out at her balcony and to the tree line.

Wait.

The balcony.

Rei grinned.

Slipping on a black jacket over her tank top and leggings, she tucked her phone into her pocket and slid the door open quietly, thanking every lucky star when it opened silently. Closing the sliding glass door behind her, she carefully climbed over the railing and slowly dropped herself down over the side, dangling for a moment before dropping completely and landing silently on the balls of her feet. She winced at the impact as it rippled up her spine unpleasantly, noting to herself to take it easy on the way back.

In the darkness she snuck around the building, using the treeline as cover and watching out for any sort of surveillance bots that sometimes lurked around. By the time she got over to the boy's side, she stared up in silence, contemplating her next move.

Which one was Bakugou's room?

Scowl on her face, she pulled out her phone, sending a quick message out. She waited for a minute, ears alighting upon hearing the quiet sound of a door opening and footsteps padding out onto the balcony.

"You there?"

Bakugou's whisper fell down on her sensitive ears, and Rei grinned. Stepping out from the treeline, she looked up before scowling once more. "Why're you so damn high up?"

"What?"

Shaking her head, she jumped up and down lightly, warming herself up. He was on the fourth floor. This was going to take a bit of improvision.

Crouching as far as she could without injuring her back, Rei launched herself upward to a second floor balcony, quietly grabbing onto the handrails and pulling herself up. She repeated this action again, this time launching upward and diagonally to the next balcony over to the left, this time wincing as her back screamed at her. Bracing herself for a third time, she just barely managed to pull herself up, a pair of hands grabbing her arms and hoisting her into the air to help her up. With a grin she leaned on the railing, shooting a smile toward the boy in front of her. "Thanks."

"Hurry up, idiot." He motioned for her to come inside his room, not bothering to wait for her to climb over the railing before walking inside. Rei proceeded carefully, mildly surprised at the orderliness as she moved over towards the desk.

"It's clean."

Bakugou snorted. "Please. You've been inside my room before."

"Not this one." Rei slid the door shut behind her, heaving a sigh and massaging her back out as she winced. "That was rough."

"You're still injured."

Rei shrugged, sitting down at Bakugou's desk as he gestured for her to take a seat, sighing in relief at the sensation. He continued to stand near her, arms folded over his chest. "It'll be fine. I have a lot of catching up to do."

"Hmph. You've got that right."

For the first time that night, Rei studied the boy across from her closely. There were no injuries that she could see, and nothing seemed off save for the stiff way that he held himself tonight. Brows furrowing, Rei tilted her head. "You're stiff."

"Idiot. You're worse than me."

"No." She shook her head, looking over at him in concern. "You're… tense."

"Of course I am." He sounded angry, arms folded over his chest. "We get kidnapped, and then no word from you for days? Then suddenly you're here, like everything's alright? Give me a break."

Rei bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." He looked like he was going to say something else, but the words choked up in his throat. He looked to the side. "Damn it."

"What happened on your end?"

"That Shigaraki bastard thought that he could sway me over to his side. Idiots, all of them." Bakugou spat out violently, pacing away from her. "You?"

"I…" Rei looked away, turning her gaze toward the desk. Silence filled the room. It felt like hours had passed before she dared to look back. When she did, all she saw was concern, a tinge of nervousness, perhaps from the way that she hesitated.

She wanted to hide it all.

But she also wanted to be brave and face it.

So she did. She spilled everything. It kept coming, like a dam that had finally broken. She unearthed everything to him, all the way to her fears, her concerns, her nightmares. Sometimes her words were smooth and steady, and other times they were rushed. Sometimes there were no words that came. When she had finally finished whispering everything she felt exhausted, as though she had just run a marathon. She was leaning forward on the desk, Bakugou leaning against the surface and standing next to her seat, his arms still folded over his chest.

Silence. Then he finally spoke.

"You… had it bad."

Rei shrugged. "Not as bad as some."

"Don't trivialize it. You… suffered."

Golden eyes lifted in weariness. "I was so scared for you, you know? He kept mentioning you."

"Whatever. Not like those league villain scums could keep me there anyway." But it was clear that her words had gotten to him, his biting tone of voice lacking the usual fire that it held when he spat out his curses of the villains.

It was all Rei could take. Standing up from her seat, she whispered. "Sorry in advance."

Bakugou had no time to react as Rei slid her arms around his waist, her face pressed into his shirt. The tears came once more, a mixture of fear and relief urging them onward. She needed catharsis, a purge of these emotions.

He was safe.

She was safe.

They were alive.

A pair of arms wrapped back around her, careful to avoid squeezing her too tightly. Rei sighed in relief, relishing the moment.

"We're alive," she spoke in a muffled voice, speaking into his chest.

"We're both fine," he agreed.

Rei snorted at that. "I'd have to disagree with that just slightly, but I'll roll with it for now."

She could almost feel him rolling his eyes down at her. "Whatever, idiot."

Finally feeling better, Rei pulled away, shivering as Bakugou's hands slid over her arms as she backed up. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she sniffled. "Okay. Catharsis over. I'm going to sleep now."

"Only you would break curfew for a hug."

"Idiot. I just wanted to see you were safe with my own eyes." Tossing her head to the side, she sniffled again. "Being told is one thing, but seeing it for myself…"

Bakugou rolled his eyes again. "I didn't say it was a bad thing."

Rei couldn't help the cheeky grin on her face. "Oh, so you're not below the law either."

"Idiot."

"You're an idiot too."

"Whatever."

"Fine, be that way."

It was like a blast from the past. Rei couldn't hide the smile from her face as they playfully bickered, folding her arms across her chest and tossing her head to the side. Looking back at Bakugou, she smiled genuinely. "Thank you, Katsuki."

At the sound of his name his eyes softened. "Idiot," he whispered. "I didn't do anything."

"You're here for me. That's all that matters." Rei began to make her way to the sliding glass door, pulling it open and peering outside to look for any security bots before stepping onto the balcony. "See you tomorrow."

"Rei."

Turning around, Rei blinked at Bakugou's sudden closeness. She flinched as he flicked her nose, muffling her grumbling and settling for a harsh glare. Bakugou grinned, leaning forward into her face as he whispered.

"That's for worrying me."

Rei rolled her eyes. "I'll kick your ass."

"You won't."

"Bet."

"You've got a broken back."

"Still doesn't mean I won't kick your ass."

"Go to sleep."

"Jerk."

"Idiot."

Sticking her tongue out childishly, she hopped over the balcony's edge and began the process of lowering herself slowly down to the ground, dropping from ledge to ledge and muffling her landings as she went. She winced every time she landed, the reverberations going up her spine, but she brushed it off and continued on.

When she got to the ground, she looked up one final time to see Bakugou watching her carefully with concern in his eyes. She stuck her tongue out again, earning another eye roll as he turned over his shoulder and went back inside. A grin on her face, she darted around the building and climbed back into the safety of her own room.

For the first time in a week, she slept soundly without nightmares.

* * *

AN: **Would anyone be interested in a Shinso/OC story?** (I'm debating if I actually want to write it, but I might just do it...)

I did promise that I would try to update once a month, so here we are! This chapter was kind of difficult to hammer out for some reason. I kept sweating out the reunion with the class, but I finally managed to finish it tonight. Please forgive me if I have some grammatical errors and spelling issues! I tried to get this out as fast as possible.

I'm hoping to have another AU sort of story for Christmas time, so we'll see if I get it done!

Please tell me how you're enjoying the story so far!

**As always, thank you for your reviews:**

**dragontamer64**: Oh no! I hope you're feeling better, since I know you wrote this review a little while ago. Life is so wild. I actually just got done with a vacation, but I was on the go the entire time and I forgot my computer charger at home so I didn't have any time to write T.T But here we are! I can't believe it's basically December... we're coming up on the one year anniversary of this story! Isn't that crazy?

**Vedahzii**: Rei is indeed alive! And so am I! Haha, I understand what you mean about writing. It's important to balance life and doing other fun things with writing as well! I totally get that writing should also be fun, but at the same time, it's like pulling teeth at times. Keep at it!

**Guest**: Hopefully this was a bit fluffy enough! I know this story is more like a slowburn, but if I go too quickly I feel like I'll have nowhere to go later as well. I'm trying to think about the longevity of this story, so please bear with me!

**bluefrost****15**: Haha, notification whiplash, but hopefully in the best of ways! Sorry I skipped the dorm room arc, but we're on to the licensing exams now! And I'm so glad your read this again! That's seriously such high praise for me; I know what it's like to binge my favorite stories, so you binging this story again makes me so happy!

**LeenaPPt**: There's a little fluff I added here, but I'll try and write more AU chapters so we can have more fluffy things as well! Thanks for the review!

**LuckwithLions**: I'm really glad that you loved the stuff with Haru! It was honestly really fun to write, but I didn't know how everyone would like it or appreciate it. I'm glad you liked it though! Thanks for the review!

**SebatadeS**: Aw, thank you! I can't say that I've worked super hard on this the entire time (because the first few chapters just kind of... happened), but I've been trying to keep up with the standard I set at the beginning. Thank you thank you!

**artfully**: Thank you! It's always good to hear feedback about earlier chapters. I have plans to go back and edit those soon, so hopefully that'll be a good revisit for me!

**TishaLiz**: Ahhhh thank you! Wow, such high praise! I'm glad you enjoy my writing style, and I'm so glad you enjoy this story as well! Thank you for the review!

**Uno**: Yay! I love binging stories, so hearing you say that you binged this story makes me so happy! I love that you love Rei. She has honestly been so fun to write, and hopefully develop as well. Here's to another update!

Thank you so much everyone for your reviews!

Happy holidays!

I hope to update this before the end of the year, but if not, then have a happy end of 2019!


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